A woman in America has been accused of faking a pregnancy to get time off work after colleagues noticed a number of details didn't add up.
Robin Folsom, 43, has been charged with three counts of making false statements and one count of identity fraud after a local grand jury indicted her on 10 February, state Attorney General Chris Carr announced on Monday.
“Fraud by state employees will not be tolerated,” Carr said in a statement.
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“By working with Georgia’s independent Inspector General, we were able to discover, investigate and put an end to this alleged deception. We will always stand up to protect taxpayer dollars, and we look forward to presenting our case in court.”
Folsom had been working as Director of External Affairs at Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA), a role that saw her supervising the agency’s marketing and media communications.
According to the Daily Star she was earning around $100,000 (£74,000) in her post.
After telling her bosses she was pregnant, Folsom announced that she had ‘given birth’ in May 2021.
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However, just months before, one of her co-workers grew suspicious when she noticed that part of Folsom’s stomach appeared to ‘come away’ from her body, in turn leading them to believe it was a fake bump.
She sent others photos of her supposed newborn baby, but the images were ‘inconsistent’ in that each showed children with ‘varying skin tones’.
A press release from the Office of the Inspector General said: “In October 2020, Folsom informed the human resources division that she was pregnant, and eventually announced that she had given birth in May 2021.
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"GVRA leadership later received an email from an individual claiming to be the father of the child and stating that Folsom had been mandated several weeks of rest following the delivery. As a result, GVRA approved approximately seven weeks of paid FMLA leave that it otherwise would not have approved.
“OIG’s [the Office for the Inspector General] investigation revealed that in March 2021, a co-worker observed the lower portion of Folsom’s stomach ‘come away’ from her body and believed Folsom wore a fake pregnant stomach.
"In addition, Folsom allegedly sent pictures of her new baby to various GVRA employees, however, the pictures appeared to be inconsistent and depicted children with varying skin tones.”
It added: “Folsom had previously reported the birth of a child in July 2020, and claimed she was again pregnant in August 2021.
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"OIG learned that the State Office of Vital Records did not possess any birth certificate listing Folsom as a mother, and a review of medical and insurance records found no indication that Folsom had ever delivered a child. Folsom resigned in October 2021 shortly after an interview with OIG investigators.”
Evidence was presented to a jury on 10 February, when Folsom was eventually indicted.
The charge of identity fraud carries a penalty of 1-10 years and/or a fine ’not to exceed $100,000’, while the false statement charges carries a penalty of 1-5 years and/or a fine of $1,000.
A statement from State Inspector General Scott McAfee said: “All state employees, and especially those that communicate with the media and general public on behalf (of) their agency, should be held to the highest standards of integrity and honesty.”
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