Known Victims Hail From Around the World; FBI is Seeking Any
Additional Victims
Baltimore, Maryland – Federal prosecutors in Maryland have
filed a federal criminal complaint charging Gregory Ray Blosser, age 37, of
Tampa, Florida, on a federal wire fraud charge in connection with an alleged
scheme to defraud clients of The Surrogacy Group (TSG), which he operated. Blosser was arrested on April 29th in
Florida. The criminal complaint was
unsealed at his initial appearance.
The federal criminal complaint was announced by United
States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Acting Special
Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
Baltimore Field Office.
“The allegations in this case are especially egregious
because they involve someone taking advantage of individuals who are trying to
become parents,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “Criminals who line their pockets through
such heartless deceit will be held accountable.”
According to the criminal complaint, TSG offers and sells
surrogacy-related services to individuals who desire to have children using a
pregnancy surrogate. TSG has been
operated by Blosser since 2012 and has offices in Annapolis, Maryland and
Tampa, Florida.
The criminal complaint alleges that Blosser solicits and
accepts funds from clients seeking to have a child using a surrogate, promising
to use those funds to support the surrogate during a pregnancy, but Blosser
fails to do so.
As detailed in the affidavit filed in support of the
criminal complaint, at Blosser’s direction, at least seven victims paid fees to
establish an escrow account to be controlled by Blosser, with the funds to be
used to find a suitable surrogate, and to support the surrogate during a
pregnancy. The victims lived in
Maryland, Australia, North Carolina, Germany, and Virginia. In each case, after the victims deposited
funds into the escrow account, Blosser either did not locate a suitable
surrogate, or did not pay the surrogate the agreed-upon fees. The victims were not able to obtain refunds,
despite numerous attempts by phone and e-mail.
Victims whose surrogates were not paid by Blosser had to pay the
surrogates directly, even though they had provided funds to Blosser for that
purpose.
Blosser is also facing related civil suits filed by the
States of Maryland and Florida.
If you believe you may have been a victim, or have
information concerning these charges, please complete a brief questionnaire at
www.fbi.gov/tsg or you can email surrogategroup@fbi.gov. Your responses are voluntary. You may be contacted by the FBI.
If convicted, Blosser faces a maximum sentence of 20 years
in prison for wire fraud. Blosser had an
initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Miami, Florida, on April 30 and
was ordered to be detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for Friday,
May 3, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. He is expected
to have an initial appearance in Maryland later this month.
A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by criminal complaint
is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal
proceedings.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI for
its work in the investigation. Mr. Hur
thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Leo J. Wise, who is prosecuting the case.
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