Debra Parris Pleads Guilty to Adoption Bribery Schemes

Debra Parris, 69, of Lake Dallas, Texas, pleaded guilty today to orchestrating two international adoption scams—one involving bribes to Ugandan officials, the other a scheme to illegally transfer a Polish child to ineligible relatives. The former program manager at an Ohio-based adoption agency admitted to criminal conspiracy in a federal court, laying bare a global operation built on corruption, deception, and child exploitation.

Court documents reveal Parris conspired with others to bribe Ugandan probation officers, court registrars, and even High Court judges to fast-track adoptions for U.S. clients. Payments were made to ensure favorable probation reports, assign cases to ‘adoption-friendly’ judges, and secure guardianship orders. Parris also admitted continuing to direct clients to work with Dorah Mirembe, her co-conspirator, even after learning Mirembe was funneling false information to the U.S. State Department to manipulate visa applications.

In a second, equally disturbing scheme, Parris and Executive Director Margaret Cole moved to transfer a Polish child to Parris’s relatives after the original adoptive family backed out, despite those relatives being ineligible under intercountry adoption laws. When the child suffered injuries and was hospitalized, Parris and her co-conspirator agreed to cover up the illegal transfer to protect their financial interests and keep the adoption pipeline flowing.

Parris pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and commit visa fraud in connection with the Uganda scheme, and to conspiracy to defraud the United States in the Poland case. She is scheduled for sentencing on March 9, 2022, with a federal judge set to weigh the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutory factors in determining her punishment.

Trial against Margaret Cole, the agency’s Executive Director, begins February 7, 2022. Dorah Mirembe remains at large and is currently wanted by U.S. authorities. The FBI’s Cleveland Field Office led the investigation, with trial attorneys Jason Manning and Alexander Kramer from the Justice Department’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chelsea Rice handling prosecution.

Victims or individuals with relevant information are urged to contact the Justice Department’s Victim/Witness Program at (888) 549-3945 or visit justice.gov/criminal-fraud/victim-witness-program. The Fraud Section maintains lead authority on FCPA cases; more information is available at justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.