A Web of deceit

The Mantooths' and Colemans' prospective parent turned out to be the same woman: Christy.

Just how did they figure that out?

It began when just four weeks before Christy was due to give birth she suddenly stopped calling Lori Coleman.

Christy’s cell phone was disconnected.

Lori Coleman: We were so afraid that something had happened to her.

They didn't hear from her for a a week — no word, no e-mails, nothing.

Lori Coleman: I thought that maybe she was just changing her mind.

Victoria Corderi: And she was too embarrassed to tell you?

Lori Coleman: Yeah, she didn't want to hurt us because we were so close.

The Colemans were desperate for an explanation. Lori turned to the Internet again. Through a message board where adoptive families share information, she started talking to Karen and Mark Mantooth.  They told her their story about Christy, and how three months earlier their relationship had ended in almost the exact same way.

Christy had given documents to both couples. There were different due dates and different last names.

Lori Coleman: They were from the same area.  They were the same age. 

Karen Mantooth: The address was the exact same except for the city.

Lori and Chris Coleman: Social security numbers. Date of birth.

Karen Mantooth: It was just too much coincidence.

In both cases, Christy had called the couples frequently, more and more, as the due dates approached. At first, just to chat, then to ask for money. She'd told both families that she was behind on her rent and short on cash for basic necessities.

Lori Coleman: She would just say, "Do you know anybody that could help me with food?" 

Victoria Corderi: To which you would say, "How much do you need?"

Lori Coleman: She was asking us for food for her daughter.  What good person is gonna say no?

The Colemans had given Christy more than $800: $300 in Wal-Mart cards for food, and $510 for rent. The Mantooths say they'd sent her more than $1,200.

Karen Mantooth: When you are in the last months of your pregnancy, you can’t work being on your feet all the time. I have no problem doing that.

Even though it's common practice for adoptive families to pay some basic living expenses for a potential birth mother, most couples understand that it is a gamble. If the woman changes her mind, and the adoption doesn't go through, she's not legally required to return the money but this situation did not appear to be a case of second thoughts.  To the families involved, this had the makings of a scam.

Karen Mantooth: I fully believe it was a scam.

Corderi: From the start?

Mark Mantooth: Yes.

Corderi: How would you describe what she did to you?

Karen Mantooth: Emotional rape.  That's what I felt like.  I'd felt that I had just been stripped raw of every emotion that I could even think of.

When the Colemans realized Christy might be a con artist preying on vulnerable families, their sadness turned to anger. 

Chris Coleman: My frame of mind was, "I'm gonna find out who this girl is.  I'm gonna get this girl."

Dateline wanted to find her too. We asked the Colemans to try to get back in touch with Christy so that we could investigate.

Lori Coleman: I sent her an e-mail and said, "I want the baby. I want to know you're okay. I care about you as a friend." I'm also coming as someone who's desperate for a baby.

Chris Coleman: We wanted her to feel like we were just suckers. 

Just as suddenly as she'd vanished, Christy reappeared on Lori's computer screen through an instant message.

Lori Coleman: She says that she's fine. She's sorry she lost contact. I ask her, “Do you still want us to have the baby?” She says yes, without a doubt.

Why the abrupt disappearance? Christy said she had run off to Florida for her grandfather's funeral and that she'd lost her cell phone.

With that, the women took up right where they'd left off,  chatting on the phone day in and day out. Only this time Lori was acting, pretending not to be suspicious.

Lori and Christy made plans for the following week: a lunch date in Nashville. What she didn't tell her is that Dateline would be there too with hidden cameras, watching her every move.

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