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Georgia TannAn American, a key defendant in a high-profile case of fraud in the adoption of children.
Date of Birth: 18.06.1891
Country:  USA |
Content:
Biography of Georgia Tann
Early Life and UpbringingGeorgia Tann, an American, was a key figure in a high-profile case involving child adoption fraud. She managed to evade justice by passing away from cancer. Her criminal activities shook the entire United States, with some being appalled by her ruthless treatment of mothers and children, and others shocked by the list of celebrities who unwittingly became clients of this criminal. Tann's upbringing was not a happy one. Despite being born into a wealthy family, she did not have a happy childhood. Her father was a strict, cruel, and authoritative man, even towards his daughter. Tann's childhood was further complicated by a car accident she experienced, which resulted in a leg injury. She had to hide her limp under loose clothing for a long time. However, Tann did not tolerate the oppression of her parents for long and began a new, independent life at the first opportunity. Her upbringing, however, left a lasting impact on her, as she firmly believed that power in the world should be in the hands of the wealthy, while the poor should only submit.
Entering the Social Field
Tann started working in the social sphere. Some would choose this field to make the world a better place, but Tann established a complex and blatantly criminal system of working with children and prospective adoptive parents. Using various dirty techniques, Tann acquired new children and sold them to wealthy childless individuals. Her tactics varied, often resorting to direct moral pressure or legal threats. Tann preferred to take children from single mothers, who were typically not formidable opponents for her. Some of the methods she used were tantamount to direct kidnapping. In some cases, she targeted single parents who left their children in nurseries. When the parents returned for their children, they were told about social service agents who had taken these children. Tracing these agents was nearly impossible. In other cases, children were temporarily placed in Tann's own institution. Parents resorted to this step due to family problems or financial difficulties. However, they were unable to retrieve their children, as they were either told that the child had already found a foster family or were faced with a complete lack of any documentary evidence of the child's existence. Several times, Tann took newborn babies, informing the single mothers that the child needed urgent medical help. She then transferred the babies to one of her own homes and subsequently informed the mothers of the tragic death of their infants. Among the involuntary providers of children for Tann's institutions were genuinely ill individuals, such as patients from a local psychiatric hospital. Tann could not carry out such actions alone; she received considerable help from local judge Camille Kelley. Kelley provided legal justification and cover for Tann's actions, inventing various formal reasons for child removal, while Tann hid the unpleasant truth about the children's origins from their new parents.
The Scandals and Financial Fraud
Tann did not shy away from financial fraud either. According to Tennessee law, her organization could charge around $7 for adoption. However, in states like Mississippi, Arkansas, and Missouri, the adoption fee could be much higher, reaching around $750. Tann practiced inter-state adoptions and charged significant sums for these operations. The amounts greatly exceeded official fees and could amount to several thousand dollars per child. It is estimated that Tann pocketed at least three-quarters of these payments, concealing the real adoption data from the relevant authorities. The Tennessee Children's Home Society, established by Tann, was dissolved in the 1950s, having earned a truly horrific reputation. The national-level Child Welfare League struck the society off its lists as early as 1941, and in 1951, the scandal surrounding Georgia Tann's actions led to a major reform of adoption laws in the state. However, Tann herself never faced the consequences of her crimes, as she passed away from cancer before the investigation materials were officially published. The publication of these materials caused quite a stir, not only due to the scale of Tann's crimes but also because some of her clients were prominent individuals. While not all of them knew how Tann acquired the children, the involvement of actress Joan Crawford, New York Governor Herbert Lehman, wrestler Ric Flair, actress June Allyson, and her husband Dick Powell in the high-profile scandal could not go unnoticed.
