Seized Monies in Adoption Fraud Case to Go to Victims

Court of Appeals denies ex-wife’s claim to back-due spousal and child support

Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley reported Thursday that more than $300,000 in money seized from Orson Mozes, a Montecito man guilty of adoption fraud, would be distributed to the 59 victims of his crimes. 

Only July 2, 2009, Mozes pleaded guilty to 17 counts of theft by false pretenses in bilking clients out of more than $1 million through his Adoption International Program. 

According to investigators, Mozes promised the same child to adoptive parents. Victims also claimed he charged them to “hold” a foreign child for them, only to be told later that the child was not available. 

As part of his sentence, Mozes was sent to prison and released any rights that he had to more than $300,000 that was seized at the time of his arrest, according to the District Attorney’s Office. 

Half of the $300,000 was distributed previously to the victims, but the remaining amount was held until Tuesday for an appeal filed on behalf of Mozes’ ex-wife, who claimed she was due spousal and child support.

The District Attorney’s Office said Thursday that the Court of Appeals denied the appeal, and the California Supreme Court declined to hear the case. 

“This has been a long time coming, and the victims have been incredibly patient,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Paula Waldman said. “Now, the court has made it clear that restitution due to victims of crime takes priority when seized monies were derived from a criminal enterprise.” 

After more than a year on the run, Mozes was arrested in Florida in late December 2008 after an anonymous tip to police. 

— Noozhawk managing editor Michelle Nelson can be reached at mnelson@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk or