An Orange County attorney who pleaded guilty to
federal charges related to the illegal immigration of pregnant Hungarian women and their
children for unlawful adoptions was placed on interim suspension by the State Bar. JANICE
JUNE DOEZIE [#132246], 50, of Orange was convicted in March of conspiracy and
causing an illegal alien to be brought to the U.S. for the purpose of financial gain. Her
license to practice law was lifted Aug. 21 and she was ordered to comply with rule 955.
As part of a plea agreement, Doezie “admitted that Hungarian
birth mothers and parents were recruited to come to the United States to give up their
children in exchange for money,” according to a statement issued by federal
prosecutors at the time of her plea. When the Hungarians did not receive visas, the
statement said, Doezie helped arrange for birth mothers and children to be smuggled into
the U.S. through Canada.
Doezie was arrested in September 1999 and named in a nine-count
indictment in which she was accused of helping to orches-trate two Orange County adoptions
in the mid-1990s.
According to the indictment, her associates recruited women from
Hungary who were either pregnant or had small children by writing bogus letters of
invitation to help the women obtain U.S. visas. If they were unable to obtain visas,
Doezie and her associates arranged for the women and children to travel to Canada and then
smuggled them into the United States.
The women allegedly were offered money in exchange for their
children.
The goal was to provide children to adoptive parents, who paid fees
to both the biological parents and to Doezie. One couple allegedly paid Doezie about
$13,000.
Doezie’s attorney said at the time of her arrest that she was
paid very little — about $1,500 — for her role in one of the adoptions. She had
reportedly been cooperating with authorities investigating illegal adoptions and had ended
her involvement with the scheme after realizing it was illegal, her lawyer said.
Federal and foreign agencies, including the FBI, the Internal Revenue
Service, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Hungarian authorities, investigated Doezie
and her associates.
According to published reports, the adoption of foreign babies,
called “parachute kids,” is widespread, fueled in part by foreign women who are
looking for financial gain. American couples typically have been charged between $12,000
and $20,000 for blond, blue-eyed babies, although one couple apparently paid as much as
$80,000 to a cash-for-babies ring.
Doezie originally was charged with conspiracy, illegally bringing a
foreigner into the United States for commercial advantage, transporting illegal immigrants
for commercial advantage, witness tampering and lying to federal investigators. The
charges could have brought a maximum of 70 years.
After her plea in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, she faced a
maximum of 15 years in federal prison.
A Vancouver attorney also has been charged with conspiracy in the
case. |
