Latter-day Saints Apostle Ronald Rasband calls Paul Petersen's adoption scheme 'sickening'

Robert Anglen | The Republic | azcentral.com

A top leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints denounced Paul Petersen's adoption scheme as "sickening."

Ronald Rasband, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said Petersen's membership in the church does not exonerate his conduct nor excuse any wrongdoing.

“We’re just as disgusted with it as anybody," Rasband told The Arizona Republic in a recent interview. “The details of this case are sickening.”

The Quorum is the second-highest governing body in the church, after the president, and helps set worldwide policy for its 17 million members.

Rasband's comments mark the first time the church has taken a public position on the case, which is reverberating with political, cultural and legal implications.

He acknowledged the church will review Petersen's membership.

Petersen is the elected Maricopa County assessor. He was indicted on human trafficking charges last month in Arizona, Utah and Arkansas related to his private adoption practice in Mesa.

Authorities say Petersen illegally transported pregnant women from the Marshall Islands to the U.S., fraudulently enrolled them for Medicaid and orchestrated adoptions of their children to American families for up to $40,000 each.

Neither Petersen nor his attorney would comment on Rasband's remarks.

Petersen has pleaded not guilty to charges in Arizona and Arkansas and is scheduled to appear Friday in a Utah court.

A church mission to the Marshall Islands

Latter-day Saints officials acknowledged Petersen's practice was rooted in his 1998 church mission to the Marshall Islands, where he said he learned the language and began facilitating adoptions.

They said a recent inquiry found that individuals within the church community previously had expressed concern about Petersen "and sought to distance" themselves from him years before his arrest.

Rasband said Petersen's alleged conduct was not sanctioned by the church and said no overlap was found between Petersen's adoption practice and the church’s Family Services arm.

“The fact that he’s a Latter-day Saint does not exonerate him,” Rasband said.

He questioned if Petersen's religious ties would undergo rigorous scrutiny if he was not a church member.

Church Elder Paul Pieper said missionaries can develop strong ties with members of the communities they serve. An unscrupulous person might take advantage of those ties, he said.

Text messages and interviews obtained by The Arizona Republic show Petersen frequently placed children with Latter-day Saints families.

WHAT WE KNOW: How Paul Petersen's Marshall Islands adoptions worked

Adoptive parents said Petersen was regarded as a family man and a trusted source for adoptions, particularly among the Latter-day Saint community in Arizona, Utah and Arkansas.

Family bonds are cornerstones of the Latter-day Saints faith, which until 2014 helped arrange adoptions through its own Family Services agency.

Church spokesman Doug Andersen said there is no indication the church ever referred families to Petersen, and he was never officially endorsed. Andersen said there was no indication Petersen marketed his business using his church ties.

"Some (church) adoption workers were advised by their clients that Petersen was facilitating adoptions," Andersen said. "Family Services was not contacted by Petersen for endorsement, nor did Family Services refer to him. Clients reported their contact was through word of mouth from other couples."

Family Services stopped offering adoptions because of an overwhelming demand.

"Family Services was no longer able to respond to the large number of Latter-day Saint couples desiring to adopt," Andersen said. "This was due to the decrease of children available for adoption. A number of other licensed adoption agencies had also discontinued their adoption practices."

Utah couple tried three times to adopt through Paul Petersen Lisa Elzey and her husband, Richard Hirschi, tried to adopt a special needs baby through Maricopa County Assessor Paul Petersen.

Pacific islands pipeline

Petersen did not appear to be hindered in his adoption efforts. Authorities said since 2015, he brought at least 70 women from the Marshall Islands to give birth in the U.S. with the purpose of placing their kids up for adoption.

Citizens of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, which is located near the equator in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the Philippines, can travel to the U.S. freely under the Compact of Free Association between the two countries.

In 2003, the compact was amended to forbid women from traveling for adoption purposes after decades of exploitation of pregnant women.

A Republic investigation based on contracts, texts, emails and internal documents found Petersen treated birth mothers and their children like monetary transactions.

He moved multiple women in and out of homes he owned in Mesa and Utah, took cuts for living expenses out of money he promised birth mothers and made every effort to enroll them in Medicaid programs.

The Republic found Petersen was connected to at least three other adoption agencies in Arizona and Colorado.

THE GAGGLE PODCAST: Adoption scheme reveals weak Arizona oversight

Petersen was arrested Oct. 8 and remained in custody until Oct. 29, when he appeared before a federal judge in Arkansas and pleaded not guilty to multiple charges. He was released on $100,000 bond.

Petersen and co-defendant Maki Takehisa, a translator who worked with the Marshallese women, are charged in Arkansas with 19 counts that include smuggling, wire and mail fraud, conspiracy and money laundering, court records show.

In Arizona, Petersen and co-defendant Lynwood Jennet face 32 counts involving Medicaid fraud. That includes allegations of fraudulent schemes, conspiracy, theft and forgery. Jennet served as Petersen's liaison for the Marshallese women and lived with them in Mesa.

The Arizona Attorney General's Office alleges Petersen fraudulently registered birth mothers living in Arizona for Medicaid so they could use the state's low-cost health-care program. Contracts show Petersen attempted to use the Medicaid system in other states as well.

Marshallese citizens are not eligible for Medicaid unless they've lived in the U.S. for five years. But according to state investigators, Petersen and his associates lied about the residency status of birth mothers so they could illegally access the health-care benefits.

In Utah, Petersen is charged with 11 counts related to human smuggling.

Suspended from government job

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted last month to suspend Petersen from his government job for 120 days for "neglect of duty." Because he is elected, the board was barred from permanently removing him from office.

Petersen said last week he will appeal his suspension.

Petersen has worked at the Assessor's Office since 2006. He served as the agency's public information officer and lobbyist at the same time he operated his law practice.

He was elected assessor in 2014 and again in 2016. His taxpayer-funded salary is about $77,000 per year, but his attendance record was spotty.

County parking records obtained by The Republic show he used a garage reserved for county government workers 53 times from Jan. 1 through Oct. 2, 2019. That's less than 30% of the available workdays.

On each of those days, he spent an average of four hours in the office.

An audit ordered by the supervisors found Petersen spent much of his days at work conducting adoption business. The audit found thousands of documents related to his private-sector work on his county-issued computer. It also found emails, website visits and international calls likely related to his adoption work.

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Church awaits outcome of criminal case

Andersen emphasized the church's primary concerns remain with the victims. He called the case very sad.

“The alleged behavior is not something we condone," he said. "Our hearts and prayers go out to those expectant mothers and hopeful adoptive parents. However, this remains a matter for law enforcement and the courts, as this individual was not acting in any way as a church leader or representative.”

Andersen said the church will wait to act on Petersen's Latter-day Saints membership.

"The church leaves the roles of investigation and criminal prosecution to the appropriate authorities," he said. "When that process is concluded, the church will determine whether to take further action in relation to his membership status."

Robert Anglen investigates consumer issues for The Republic. If you're the victim of fraud, waste or abuse, reach him at robert.anglen@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8694. Follow him on Twitter, @robertanglen.