(a) As used in this section: (1) 'Aggregate financial benefit' means the total financial benefit received by a person preceding, during, and after the pregnancy of the person;(2) 'Financial benefit' means any cost for prenatal, delivery, or postnatal care, including without limitation reasonable costs for: (A) Housing;(B) Food;(C) Clothing;(D) Medical expenses; or(E) General maintenance; and(3) 'Prospective adoptive parent' means a person who through his or her actions has a stated or unstated intention to begin the process of adopting a minor, whether or not the minor is known to him or her.(b) A person commits the offense of defrauding a prospective adoptive parent if he or she: (1) Knowingly obtains a financial benefit from a prospective adoptive parent or from an agent of a prospective adoptive parent with a purpose to defraud the prospective adoptive parent or the agent of the prospective adoptive parent of the financial benefit; and(2) Does not: (A) Consent to the adoption; or(B) Complete the adoption process.(c) Defrauding a prospective adoptive parent is a:(1) Class B felony if:(A) The aggregate financial benefit is two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) or more; or(B) Complete the adoption process.(c) Defrauding a prospective adoptive parent is a:(1) Class B felony if:(A) The aggregate financial benefit is two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) or more; or(B) The person has previously been convicted under this section;(2) Class C felony if the aggregate financial benefit is five hundred dollars ($500) or more but less than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500); or(3) Class A misdemeanor if the aggregate financial benefit is less than five hundred dollars ($500). Acts 2011, No. 697, § 1.
Arkansas Legal Code