Shanarial Johnson, Pensacola, Florida woman pleads no contest to adoption deception scheme after receiving $10K from hopeful adoptive parents only to decide in the end to keep the baby while continuing to ask for funds after the baby was born.
Maybe she had a change of heart at the time of birth? Or had she been scheming all along…?
A Pensacola, Florida woman has been sentenced to jail time after deceiving a couple that she would give up her child to let them adopt it while all along collecting payments from the hopeful parents.
Shanarial Deborra Johnson, 31 is alleged to have taken nearly $10,000 from a family who was supposed to adopt her child.
The risks of adoption schemes explored
According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Johnson had decided in March 2024 to put her unborn child up for adoption through Gulf Coast Adoptions.
Johnson was paired with a family from Virginia that provided financial support to her while she was pregnant, WEAR-TV reported.
The arrest report said the couple who were set to adopt the child paid Johnson $9,931 between May 20, 2024, and Aug. 24, 2024.
According to the owner of GCA, Johnson was supposed to let the agency know when her baby was born; except she never did and instead kept the money.
Johnson reportedly told the agency on Aug. 24 that she had the baby and no longer wanted to put it up for adoption.
The couple who were supposed to adopt the baby were able to get Johnson’s medical records and found she had actually had the baby on Aug. 17, 2024, meaning they had given her $265 since the birth of the baby, which she was not entitled to, according to the report.
‘Based on the information, the suspect deceived the victim party for her benefit,’ read a June 2025 arrest report.
In a plea deal, Johnson pleaded no contest to adoption deception and petite theft.
Under Florida law, a mother is allowed to ask for ‘money for cost of carry’ in adoption schemes.
During the months that Johnson was in contact with the hopeful couple, she had sent picture of ultrasounds of the unborn child to the prospective parents. Nevertheless the would be parents were aware that they were ‘gambling’ that the unborn baby might not be delivered to them and potentially being used to subsidize the cost of giving birth.
Gulf Coast Adoption has since released a statement saying that would be adoptee parents should be aware that there are risks that the birth mother could always change her mind at the time of birth and that prospective donors to not consider the adoption process as a way to profit off the good intentions of prospective adoptive parents.
Johnson this week was sentenced to serve 220 days in the county jail on each count, with the days running concurrently. She must also pay restitution to the victims.
The whereabouts of the newborn child was not immediately known.
