Tests point to adoption fraud

DNA tests indicate that a Guatemalan baby being adopted by an unidentified U.S. couple is one who has been reported stolen, officials said.

Jaime Tecu, director of a team of experts reviewing all pending Guatemalan adoptions, said the DNA test results represent the first time officials have directly linked a baby reported stolen by its mother to the fraud-riddled adoption system. The child, Esther Zulamita, was reported stolen March 26, 2007.

Authorities have long believed that children were stolen or bought to supply Guatemala’s $100-million-a-year adoption industry before thousands of pending adoptions were frozen in May. Dozens of mothers had reported their babies were stolen, and at least two were found in orphanages.