2010 exclusive CBS News investigative report on Christian World Adoption, Inc.
There's a fierce runoff race happening in South Carolina right now between tea party candidate Curtis Bostic and disgraced former governor Mark Sanford for the right to run against Elizabeth Colbert Busch for Tim Scott's open Senate seat.
Curtis Bostic seems to have a bit of a past that is just coming to light now. He was the attorney of record for the Christian World Adoption agency, the subject of 2010 CBS News investigation into the possibility that CWA was nothing more than a human trafficking organization.
Christian World Adoption is one of 70 agencies licensed to operate in Ethiopia. Beyond the alleged payment to their father, the Bradshaw sisters say they were told by local employees of Christian World they were only coming to America for an education; that they could return home when school was out. Not true. In fact it's virtually impossible to reverse an adoption in Ethiopia.
"I thought I was going to be kind of like an exchange student," Journee said. "Honestly, I never knew that I'm going to be here forever."
"We have watched our kids grieve and cry and scream and melt down from the bottom of their souls over the loss of their country and their family," Katie Bradshaw said.
A 2007 video shows Christian World representatives entering an Ethopian village and appearing to recruit children from poor villagers - an unethical practice against Ethopian law.
"If you want your child to be adopted by a family in America you may stay," said Michelle Gardner. She spoke those words on a tape produced by Christian World for American parents seeking to adopt in Ethiopia. And now says she deeply regrets it.
Well it seems that God filed for bankruptcy and those who paid CWA for children were left holding the bag when they filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in February 2013.
As a result of a CBS News investigation and the banning of adoption agencies worldwide, CWA went bankrupt in February 2013. A few months prior to the bankruptcy filing Mr. Bostic’s law firm was still being paid for services connected to the CWA — even though they were soon to file a chapter 7 bankruptcy petition. Records obtained by BU show that The Bostic Law firm was paid 26,641.07 dollars on November 7th 2012, and another 5,000.00 dollars on November 20th 2012. On December 5th 2012 Bostic’s firm was paid 5,906.86 along with another 243.25 paid December 12th 2012. The last payments to them were 5,000.00 on December 19th 2012, and 1,942.73 which was paid on January 16th 2013; less than one month prior to the filing. The total over the three month period was 44,733.91 dollars.
Bostic, of course, has a response ready for his critics, as he expressed in the CBS interview. He wants everyone to know that attorneys don't really have to know the truth to represent their clients and that it was all just a misunderstanding. The first statement is the one that should set South Carolina voters to wondering.
Is Bostic telling them the truth, or is he just representing someone powerful and more wealthy? Based on past history, it seems to be just a continuation of his belief that everything can be explained away as a big "misunderstanding."
I think the families bilked out of thousands of dollars might differ with that. At least Mark Sanford had the cojones to come clean about his Appalachian trail adventure.
