Maricopa County Assessor Paul Petersen, who was arrested Oct. 8 in Mesa, is facing state and federal charges in three states in connection with an adoption scheme stretching from the Republic of the Marshall Islands to Arizona, Arkansas and Utah.

Here's what you need to know about him and the allegations against him.

He was elected to a 4-year term in 2016

Petersen is in his second term as assessor. He won a special election in 2014 to replace Keith Russell and was reelected in 2016. His biography on the assessor's website makes clear that he "continues to practice law from his Mesa-based law office, and his law practice remains committed to helping people all across the country in their effort to adopt children.''

Deep Arizona roots, based in Mesa

Petersen's bio says he is a fifth-generation Arizonan whose family traces its roots back to territorial days. He's a lifelong resident of Mesa, where he lives with his wife and four children.

Petersen, who is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, served his church mission in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, according to court documents.

The Republic of the Marshall Islands is located near the equator in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the Philippines. It has a population of about 53,000 people.

Petersen earned an undergraduate degree from Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. In 2002, he earned his law degree from ASU's Sandra Day O'Connor School of Law.

Before winning the special election for county assessor in 2014, he worked in the Assessor's Office as its representative at the state Legislature and as public information officer. He is a Republican who has been active in party politics for years.

A family in politics

Paul Petersen is the son of former state treasurer David Petersen, who resigned in 2006 when he entered a guilty plea to one misdemeanor count stemming from his failure to report income from his work with a character training program, Character Counts.

Paul Petersen also is a second cousin of state House Majority Leader Warren Petersen. A spokesman for Warren Petersen said the Republican legislator from Gilbert only found out they were second cousins after they met through politics and was shocked and saddened by the news of the assessor’s indictment.

How his adoption law practice works

The private law office makes clear what Paul Petersen's practice is all about: helping to facilitate private adoptions that can take place "without direct involvement'' of a third party, such as an adoption agency or the state.

Petersen's law practice has focused on adoption for about 15 years.

What are the charges about?

Each of the indictments involves issues tied to an adoption fraud scheme. Authorities in Arizona, Utah and Arkansas held news conferences simultaneously on Oct. 9to detail the charges against Petersen and his co-defendants. According to authorities, Petersen used his expertise as a lawyer to conduct illegal adoptions.

An investigation by Honolulu Civil Beat last year questioned the legality of the adoptions Petersen administered.

The Arizona case

On Oct. 8, the Arizona Attorney General's Office announced Petersen had been indicted in an adoption fraud scheme that involves women from the Marshall Islands brought to the U.S. to give birth. Their babies then are adopted out to U.S. parents.

Petersen and a co-defendant, Lynwood Jennet, were indicted in Arizona Oct. 7 on 29 counts of fraudulent schemes and three counts of conspiracy, theft and forgery.

Eight pregnant Marshallese women were found in a house in Mesa on the night of Oct. 8 when the Department of Public Safety troopers executed a search warrant, according to DPS Director Frank Milstead. There are no plans to charge the women, but it's unclear what will happen to their adoption plans, Milstead said.

Petersen is accused of illegally obtaining services from Arizona's Medicaid system for the women, falsely claiming the women are Arizona residents. He also is accused of violating a compact between the U.S. and the Marshall Islands. It prohibits citizens of that country to come to the U.S. if their travel is for the purpose of adoption unless they have a special visa.

"It's unfair to the adoptive parents, and it's also unfair to the hard-working Arizona taxpayers," Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said.

INDICTED: Maricopa County Assessor Paul Petersen accused of adoption fraud

The Utah case

The Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes said Petersen recruited more than 40 pregnant women from the Marshall Islands over the past three years and transported them to Utah, where they were paid to give up their children for adoption in the U.S.

"The commercialization of children is illegal, and the commoditization of children is simply evil," he said.

Petersen is facing 11 felony charges in Utah related to human smuggling.

Callers to the state attorney general's human trafficking tip line in October 2017 reported suspicious births and adoptions involving Marshallese women in Utah hospitals, sparking the investigation, Reyes has said.

His office does not anticipate any overturned adoptions as a result of the case.

Since news of the charges broke, Leo Lucy, chief investigator with the Utah attorney general’s office, said her office has received numerous phone calls, many from potential victims that could lead to further investigation and possibly more charges. The office’s hotline is 801-839-5640.

The Arkansas case

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Arkansas detailed the activities of Petersen and his co-defendant there, Maki Takehisa. Authorities characterized their operation as a scheme to defraud and take advantage of Marshallese women and families to make quick money.

The indictment says Petersen would offer to pay up to $10,000 through Takehisa's bank account to pregnant Marshallese women to travel to the U.S., give birth to their babies and give them up for adoption to American parents.

A 19-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Arkansas charges Petersen and Takehisa with conspiracy to smuggle the women for private financial gain; aiding and abetting the smuggling; wire fraud; mail fraud; conspiracy to commit visa fraud; and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to federal court documents, Petersen and Takehisa had offered to pay at least four Marshallese women to give up their babies for adoption in Arkansas. But U.S. Attorney Duane Kees has said there dozens of more women.

If Petersen is found guilty of all the federal charges in Arkansas, he could be sentenced up to 315 years in prison and be imposed a $5 million fine, Kees said.

“Make no mistake,” Kees said, “this is the purest form of human trafficking.”

'The Marshallese Tradition'

On Petersen's law office website, an unsigned blog post dated Feb. 2, 2018, talks about adoption and the Marshall Islands, under the headline "Widening Family Circles: The unique beauty of Marshallese tradition.''

Here is a closer look at Petersen's background and law practice:

Petersen's law practice is based in Mesa. He practices in Arizona, Utah and Arkansas, according to his website. It describes the firm as "a dedicated law practice focused on family formation through adoption.''

The site also says Petersen is general counsel for Bright Start Adoptions, an agency with offices in Mesa and Tucson.

The site includes several client testimonials for his private adoption work and notes that the cost for his services can range from $30,000 to $40,000 for a single adoption.

A notable blog post talks about "Marshallese Tradition,'' and what it calls the cultural differences between adoption in the U.S. and the Marshall Islands.

"What American society calls adoption is mostly legalistic, and formal. The act of adoption among Marshallese creates a kinship, a bond, between birth and adoptive parents,'' the blog says.

It goes on to describe a "shared connection'' to the child between birth and adoptive parents.

"Traditional Marshallese adoptions do not include total denial of parental rights. Birth parents continue to have a relationship with their child. And their biological connection is known. No stigma is connected to the child, and the child is considered shared among both parents."

The blog adds, "Unlike American adoptions, in the Marshall Islands being adopted means you have an additional set of parents. Yes, bonus parents, rather than the exchange of parents."

The blog goes on to explain how the firm believes such "open adoptions are the most rewarding'' for all parties involved.

"Paul lived in the Marshall Islands and came to understand the beauty in the sense of community there. Returning to the U.S., he wanted to build families and blend the strengths of both cultures’ adoption practices.''

Petersen's law office website says he has many resources and contacts in Arizona, Arkansas and Utah that have helped him in his practice identify birth parents and match them with a couple or individual looking to adopt.

The website notes that 45 states have laws allowing private adoption arrangements.

Includes information from Arizona Republic reporters Jessica Boehm and Lily Altavena.