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Looking for Answers in Adoption Scam

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NEW HOPE, Minn. - A Minneapolis-area adoption agency is under fire for taking families' money but never delivering on their promises of children. One of the victims is a Campbellsport, Wis., family. Mark and Heather Demmon attempted to adopt two Guatemalan girls through Reaching Arms International Adoption Agency. They spent $30,000, only to find out the little girls they fell in love with are not legally adoptable. Dozens of other families have also complained to the Minnesota attorney general. The complaints prompted a revocation of Reaching Arms' license. Still, the families who paid money only to have their dreams shattered have no answers. The agency's owner, Nila Hilton, would not return any calls or e-mails. TODAY'S TMJ4 reporter Lauren Leamanczyk went to Minnesota to track her down. Hilton ignored phone calls. The office at Reaching Arms is locked and shut down, even though the agency is supposed to be working on resolving its client's issues. When TODAY'S TMJ4 finally found Hilton, she slammed the door instead of answering questions. Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson calls the complaints "horrendous." She said each of the families told a similar story of deceit. Hilton falsified birth certificates, failed to contact families, and when they complained, she threatened to derail their adoption because of their "anger management" issues. In some cases, the agency even tried to switch children on the families. Hilton denied any wrongdoing and said the families are making this up. "When you have people all over, not only in Minnesota, telling the same detailed stories, it's pretty convincing that it really did happen," Swanson said. Several families are suing Reaching Arms International.

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