White Texas Attorney Accused of Using Threats Against Two Pregnant Jail Inmates to Buy Their Unborn Babies In Black Market Adoption Scheme, Police Say

After getting banned from brokering international adoptions, one accused scammer turned to a surprising target: pregnant inmates.

A Texas adoption attorney allegedly made brazen attempts to buy two babies from incarcerated women by depositing money into their jail accounts to pay for commissary items and entertainment.

Jody Hall, 68, was charged with the sale or purchase of a child and unethical adoption practices, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by KXAS in Dallas. The third-degree felony carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence in Texas.

But this is not Hall’s first brush with notoriety. She was the subject of an investigative series by Honolulu Civil Beat into an adoption pipeline from the Marshall Islands to Honolulu in violation of international law. It’s unclear if Texas police will examine those actions in connection to the most recent investigation.

The latest adoption scheme was exposed after detectives from the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office discovered messages on electronic jail tablets allegedly from Hall to at least two inmates, both in their 20s. The messages to one inmate started on March 13, with Hall initially taking a cordial tone. But that quickly escalated into name-calling and threats as the mother-to-be changed her mind and decided to keep her baby.

In her first message, Hall identified herself as the “Director of the Adoption Agency that you have signed with” and stated that she deposited $20 on the inmate’s tablet so they could discuss an “adoption plan.” She offered to send photos of the would-be adoptive parents and, in one email, inquired about the mother’s health and asked if she was getting enough food in jail. Over the next two months, the messages had an urgent undercurrent as Hall pressured the inmate to convince her boyfriend to sign away his rights to his unborn child.

“Have you heard from your boyfriend? I need to get him to sign a document stating that he may or may not be the father but if he is, he is relinquishing his rights and does not want to have to go to Court. Please let me know how to get in touch with him now. He can sign this document before the baby is born,” Hall allegedly wrote, according to the local outlet . When things weren’t going to plan, the messages became increasingly aggressive.

“I don’t need birth moms that lie to me just to get financial support. And I can’t give you anymore if he’s not willing to sign the paperwork. That means he wants the baby if he is the father.”

By May, it seemed clear from the messages that the deal was falling apart — and so was Hall. She blasted the inmate, calling her a “scammer” and threatening to smear her character to the “prosecutor in your case.”

“Amber, you’re in jail and a drug addict. YOU! Did NOT keep him. You are a scammer and I will be telling the prosecutor in your case all about how this family supported you since November and you scammed them WITH THE HELP OF YOUR BOYFRIEND,” she allegedly screamed in all caps, adding, “He’s got pictures all over FB of him holding the baby. You’re such a liar.”

According to police, Hall put $846 on at least one inmate’s commissary account. Under normal circumstances, it’s a common practice for prospective adoptive parents to fund medical and housing expenses for the mother-to-be. However, because the mother was incarcerated, those expenses were already incurred by Tarrant County, making the funding illegal under Texas law.

In 2019, Hall was investigated while brokering Marshallese adoptions, another population vulnerable to exploitation. The Honolulu Civil Beat reported how mothers in the Marshall Islands were easily duped, as it’s common for children to live in another household, and many were unaware of the true implications of adoption.

In one text, Hall told a client that “it’s easier to control” the birth mothers flown from the Marshall Islands, compared to Marshallese women already in Arkansas, “because we buy the tickets. That way they can’t change the tickets. We placed 3 in the past 3 weeks,” reported the Honolulu Civil Beat.

Days after the story broke, an accreditation agency suspended Hall from doing international adoptions, and shortly after, the Intercountry Adoption Accreditation and Maintenance Entity outright canceled her accreditation for failing to comply with standards.

In the latest case, Hall was arrested on July 23 but released on $50,000 bond from the Hays County Jail the same day.

White Texas Attorney Accused of Using Threats Against Two Pregnant Jail Inmates to Buy Their Unborn Babies In Black Market Adoption Scheme, Police Say