The Towells’ Story

Decimated In Blagoveshchensk

A Journey of Deceit via Tatyana, Amrex & BBAS

Chapter One:

Oleg & Elena Find Parents

“Therefore I say onto you,

 What things soever you desire

When you pray, believe that you receive them

And you will have them”

-Mark 11:24

    The Towells’ story is complex, encompassing all the duplicity Americans may encounter when adopting from Russia. From losing two cherished children, to deceitful, greedy facilitators in Russia, right down to a mendacious agency director in the United States. Duplicity on a scale this family will never encounter in other parts of their lives.

    This adoption journey began in October 2000 when Alysha and Brian Towell decided to adopt a child.

   Like other young families who had chosen to adopt, the Towells had biological children, Tiffany and Brody, who were both under three years old. Alysha had always wanted to adopt a child.

   She had experienced pregnancy and childbirth and she and Brian were fully committed to giving a child already on this planet a chance at a stable family life.  They had enough love in their hearts for 10 kids, and they felt that God was moving them towards adopting from Russia.

    Inevitably, their first stop on that journey the Internet and Precious in His Sight photolisting. If you are familiar with international adoption, you know exactly what a lure Precious is. The faces of those needy children beckon naïve prospective adoptive parents with a sonorous song that is hard to ignore. 

   The children, as I have said before, sell themselves. In order to be placed with a family, the children are used as bait for agencies to ensare clients and their money. The catch is the agency is the only conduit by which families can adopt those children.

    Early November 2000 Building Blocks Adoption Service, Inc. was the conduit by which Alysha Towell was led to Oleg, boy #2193 on Precious. Upon seeing Oleg, aka boy # 2193’s wan, fragile face, Alysha said, “I saw a lot of children on many different sites, but...when I happened on Oleg, it was love at first sight. Something in his eyes said this will be our son.” Oleg was two years old.

    Oleg’s expression was sad, forlorn but still hopeful. She felt a connection with that face, and immediately called Brian over so they could both look at his flickering image on the computer screen.  Brian was struck the same way.  How could they go about adopting this little pale boy?

    Their good fortune at finding Oleg ended the moment Alysha dialed the toll-free telephone number for this agency they had never heard of.

   Since they were neophytes at adoption, not even having a social worker for a homestudy, they didn’t have the knowledge to go and thoroughly check out BBAS on the Internet or with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. In other words, a perfect target for Denise Hubbard’s emotional sales pitch.

    The adoption gods were frowning down upon her when the call was placed. For, it was Denise L. Hubbard herself who answered the telephone that day, in her capacity as “Caring Agency Director Who Will Lie to You to Place a Child.”

    Denise sounded delighted to hear Alysha was interested in adopting Oleg.  She answered Alysha’s questions as if she had personally seen Oleg and was 100 percent aware of his needs.  After all, he was in Russia, the same country her own thriving daughter Emily had come from. Denise told Alysha Oleg’s legs were crippled and it appeared that he couldn’t walk. 

    Alysha believed with her whole heart and soul, this would not be an impediment to his adoption. It wasn’t a big deal to her if he couldn’t play sports because he couldn’t walk.

    Denise, the all-knowing medical information center, countered that people in wheelchairs play basketball and that Alysha wasn’t “being fair” about Oleg’s condition. She quickly added, however, that the Towells would be a great family for Oleg; they could probably afford his medical care, and above all, they would be his parents to guide him physically and spiritually throughout his life.

   (A nice compliment, to be sure, but remember this assessment was based on a single telephone conversation that had just started. Denise had never, ever met the Towells in person, nor would she).

    She countered any doubts Alysha had about Oleg’s long term outlook when he came home. Denise, speaking in “Expert and Professional Adoption Agency Director Opinion” mode told Alysha once the children were home, they were always fine.  They always came around with love.  

   After all, Emily had been ill once she got home (if Emily had indeed been so ill, why had the Hubbards taken that trip to Disney World shortly after they returned?). Why, to see Emily now, nobody would guess how sick she had been. 

    Denise lied to Alysha regarding Emily’s health when she came home. A “dhubb” had posted the following message on the parentsplace International Adoption bulletin board on Monday, Dec. 29, 1997 stated:

Emily came from the Perm Region, we spent seven days in Russia, the people where wonderful, the experience was great and I would do it again in a heart beat!! She is eight months old, blonde hair, blue eyes and is in great health. The childrens hospital could not believe how healthy she was!!! Thanks for the support.

    Unbeknownst to Alysha, Denise was using the same hackneyed lines she had used hundreds of times on the unsuspecting when it came to Emily. Either Emily was healthy, depending on the child she wanted to “place” or she was sick.  That day, in order to move Oleg, Emily was sick when she had come home.

    Denise guilt-tripped her with this: if Oleg wasn’t adopted by an American family who could meet his medical needs, he would be unable to walk, forgotten about and left to perish in a godforsaken Detsky Dom in Russia. 

    Alysha asked Denise to clarify the Russian adoption process. Neither she nor Brian knew how to begin. They didn’t understand that they needed a social worker for their homestudy or even how important that was. They didn’t know the duration of the paperwork process once it hit Russia. 

    Denise stated the Russian process was simple once INS approval was received. She assured Alysha that nobody had ever been denied by the INS. She also told Alysha that Building Blocks was accredited to do adoptions in Russia.

    She made it sound that if the Towells got moving immediately on Oleg’s dossier, he could possibly be home by January! Alysha’s heart beat faster with hope imagining Oleg home in two months time.

    This was another Denise Hubbard sales pitch, overpromising and understating timelines for a quick sale off of a sick boy. Denise knew her marks well, and she played Alysha Towell to the hilt.

    Alysha said of Denise that day: “She was extremely nice …She reminded me of the people you see on the Feed the Children infomercials. I thought she was just an extreme humanitarian.”

    Extreme in every sense of the word.

    The next issue discussed was adoption expenses. BBAS’s website at the time stated that one child’s fee was $10,175.

   Denise revamped that figure. The fee on the website was for a child four and over. Since Oleg was two years old, his adoption costs would be $16,675, not including travel and dossier preparation fees.  

    It was a steep price to Alysha for a handicapped little boy who might need many medical interventions once he was home. She asked Denise why the fee was so high if Oleg was handicapped.

    Here is where Denise lied to cover where the money was really going, similar to what she had told the Badys about money going to Russia.

   “She said $6,000 of it was an orphanage donation and that it would do so much for the kids left behind,” Alysha told us. “How could I say anything else?”

    How could she, indeed, have countered such an emotional appeal about helping the children left behind? Surely that money really and truly was going to help God’s Orphaned Children! Surely it must!

   Certainly Humanitarian “Adoptions Because We Care” Denise wouldn’t fib about the money going to help those poor kids! 

    Her solicitude for Oleg was so genuine! But yet, she was unconcerned about the Towells’ needs as a family unit and how Oleg placement would affect them. Alysha sensed this. “She didn’t seem to be very interested in our adoption needs. When we picked our kids out it was like her intervention stopped there. She didn’t even recommend the book Toddler Adoption or anything else for that matter.”

    After the initial conversation with Denise about Oleg’s health issues, Alysha says that Denise Hubbard never brought up his problems again. Nor did she offer support or advice on how to handle a child who might not be able to walk — or the effects of his institutionalization and adjustment into a new American family. Once Denise had emotionally trapped them, Oleg’s special needs status no longer concerned her.

    This conversation took place around the time Cyril’s story hit Mary Mooney’s site but before Daniel’s post on FRUA. Denise was oblivious to the impact our tale would have on BBAS.

   Oddly enough, she didn’t tell Alysha to stay off the Internet, perhaps because she didn’t peg Alysha as somebody who would gather her own information.

    For all they both knew this day, Oleg’s adoption was going to be smooth sailing, no pitfalls, no problems. Just another smooth-as-glass Russian adoption.

    Denise moved in for the pecuniary assault. She had Alysha by the heart, but could she get her by the pocket book?

   In order to view Oleg’s video and medicals, the Towells would have to send Denise BBAS initial application fee of $275. Once they received his video and medical report, they would know which region of Russia he was in.

    Alysha desperately wanted to see Oleg and read his medical, so the check was as good as signed. Upon agreeing to send her check, the Towells were signed up with BBAS for  the worst. 

   It didn’t bother Denise to send this boy’s video and medical report to a family that did not have a completed home study, or even a social worker. Just SOP at BBAS when Denise was making her Amrex quota for the month.

   Once the $275 check was received, Oleg’s videotape was mailed off to the expectant parents.

Next