Owner of Utah adoption agency closed under scrutiny files for bankruptcy

Owner of Utah adoption agency closed under scrutiny files for bankruptcy

The Utah adoption agency at the center of nearly $600,000 in missing money from prospective parents has filed for bankruptcy.

Brighter Adoptions’ owner Sandi Quick listed more than $2.7 million in liabilities according to bankruptcy filings, including claims from former clients.

Natalie Jantz and her husband Austin were one of the last families to try to adopt a child through the agency before it closed without explanation in February.

“It was one of those things where, like, six months ago, I would have been upset, angry, but like I anticipated it, and so per usual, I figure out what's next,” Jantz said when she heard Quick had filed for bankruptcy under the name Sandi Benson.

Earlier this year, KUER reported on 14 families who had tens of thousands tied up with Quick and Brighter Adoptions, finding a pattern of operational negligence.

In the Jantzes’ case, they paid $47,000 in matching fees to Brighter Adoptions in the hope of adopting twins. A matching fee is typically a lump sum used to help cover medical and living expenses for the birth mother. They were quickly matched with a woman in Pennsylvania. Despite Quick’s more than 20 years of experience in the adoption industry, she apparently missed numerous red flags with that individual – like forged medical documents and ultrasound images – that ultimately left the Jantzes vulnerable to a scam.

Recent filings show more than 20 families are now seeking money from Quick, along with the Internal Revenue Service. Quick’s listed liabilities include mortgages, taxes, credit cards, personal loans and medical bills.

KUER reached out to Quick for comment, but she did not respond.

“It's absolutely a coward's choice, and I don't think she wakes up every day thinking about any of the decisions she's made and how it's impacted others,” Jantz said about Quick’s declaration of bankruptcy.

She is concerned that Quick filing for bankruptcy will stop justice from being served for her and the other families, some of whom lost life savings.

Emily Grimmius is a policy analyst for the libertarian think tank the Libertas Institute and a former assistant district attorney in Manhattan. She has worked several of these cases in her career, and said bankruptcy is “definitely not a get out of jail free card.” There are consequences.

Bankruptcy is a civil judgment. When someone files, creditors are ranked according to who gets paid first. When large government agencies are involved – in this case the IRS – they surpass others like the Jantzes and go to the top of the list.

“Oftentimes people, victims in general, for any crime, don't feel like the justice system serves them,” Grimmius said.

She explained there are ways victims can get what they’re entitled to, but it’s lengthy and expensive.

“Access to justice is a real challenge, and I think the best thing we can sort of do is make sure people have accurate information,” Grimmius said, adding that victims of crime or potential victims must seek legal guidance. That is also where the price tag can rise.

Jantz and her family are weighing their options, but are determined to get what they are due.

“Going through all the information provided, there are other families who lost more than us that are entitled to more,” she said. “And if I go through the process of hiring an attorney and going for it, I mean, the fraction of what we would get versus the money I'd be spending on the attorney, it's not worth it.”

Right now she and her husband are focused on the final stages of becoming foster parents.

“We started this journey saying that we would find a baby that needs us as much as we need them,” she said.