Looking for excuses to miss work? There are people who resort to “white lies” in order to be absent from work so as not to harm their role as a good employee and continue receiving their salary. However, there are those who take excuses too far that, no matter how good and honest they may seem, in the end the truth always ends up coming to light, bringing with it harsh consequences and even serious legal repercussions.
Robin Folsom, a former Georgia official, in the United States, had the brilliant but risky idea of faking a pregnancy, and thus, enjoying her paid maternity leave, but her plan fell apart after leaving a couple of loose ends.
alone was discovered
Robin was working as the director of external affairs at the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency when, in August 2020, she told her bosses that she was expecting her second baby. The 43-year-old woman also shared the happy news of her pregnancy with her co-workers. As expected, her belly grew as the months went by, until she had to leave in May 2021 due to the birth of the baby.
To make everything as believable as possible, Robin frequently sent photographs of the newborn to her colleagues, however, suspicions began to arise when they noticed something strange, because it was not normal for the photos to show different babies, specifically with different skin tones.
The baby’s dad was fake too
As if that were not enough, a fake dad was also invented for her blessing, who had allegedly sent an email to Robin’s bosses, announcing the baby’s birth and informing them that his wife needed to rest for several weeks due to the recent delivery. . The Human Resources department approved seven weeks of paid sick leave for alleged doctor-ordered bed rest.
Apparently, Robin’s plan was going great, but he didn’t tell that the fictitious story of her pregnancy would be discovered later that year. Two months before she claimed to have given birth, a coworker noticed that part of her pregnant belly seemed to “peel off,” raising suspicions of a false pregnancy.
It wasn’t the first time she had faked a pregnancy.
In July 2020, Robin led her bosses to believe that she had given birth to her first child, and a month later she announced that she was pregnant again. However, that theater also came crashing down when investigators in the case checked with the state’s Office of Vital Records, and found that there was no birth certificate or medical record that listed Folsom as the mother of a child.
Having faked two pregnancies, the fraud could cost Robin dearly, with her facing up to ten years in prison for identity fraud, as well as an additional five years for each false statement. In addition, she would also have to pay a fine of 103 thousand dollars.
What do you think of the gall of this woman?