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Ashley Richards of Walden was sentenced on Tuesday, Aug. 13, for taking more than $8,000 from the couple, said Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler.
According to the District Attorney's Office, Richards met the couple in early 2018 that were interested in adopting a baby.
Prosecutors said that Richards falsely told the couple that she was pregnant and was expecting twins and that she would allow the couple to adopt the twin babies.
Richards, who was not pregnant, gave the couple stuffed animals with a recording that she states was the twin fetuses heartbeats and made repeated misrepresentations about her medical condition, the DA's Office said.
The couple gave Richards money, which she said was going toward medical expenses associated with her “pregnancy”.
In addition to the state prison sentence, Richards was also ordered to pay restitution to the couple in the amount of $8,835.
"While all frauds involve an abuse of the victims’ trust, this was a particularly cruel fraud perpetrated on a couple anxious to start a family,” said Hoovler. “The state prison sentence that this defendant received is just punishment for the cynical, elaborate and ongoing misrepresentations that she made to her victims."
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