American Who Brokered African Adoptions Is Arrested

Jason Carney ran 2nd Milk charity and found orphans in Malawi for U.S. families

Federal authorities have arrested Jason Carney, an American who ran a charity to feed African orphans and brokered adoptions in Malawi for U.S. clients.

Carney was detained Friday in Arkansas in connection with a U.S. State Department investigation, according to a local law-enforcement record and people familiar with the matter. Carney and his wife couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. It couldn’t immediately be learned what charges he faced. 

The Wall Street Journal in August reported that the State Department was investigating Carney and his charity called 2nd Milk. Officials suspected Carney was using money raised for the charity to pay for his travel and lifestyle, according to an affidavit filed by a State Department investigator.

The Journal investigation found former employees at 2nd Milk who said that Carney represented to U.S. families that certain babies were available for adoption, even though Carney hadn’t gotten proper approval from their biological families or the Malawian ministry. 

Some of Carney’s U.S. clients said they raised concerns about his activities to Children of All Nations, the adoption agency he worked with, as well as to the State Department. The adoption agency lost its accreditation last year. In a message to clients at the time, Children of All Nations denied any wrongdoing.

On Friday, a spokesman for the State Department said “because there is an ongoing investigation, we cannot discuss matters relating to the case.” 

Carney didn’t respond to calls and emails seeking comment for the August article. On May 30, one day after the Journal emailed him a detailed list of questions, Carney posted a Bible verse on Instagram, along with a caption. “Don’t believe all you might hear soon,” he wrote in the caption. “Couldn’t be further from the truth, and I know God is in charge of all things.”

Write to Khadeeja Safdar at khadeeja.safdar@wsj.com