Ex-Georgia Official Wears Bogus Baby Bump, Fakes Two Pregnancies To Get Paid Leave

A former high level Georgia state official was indicted for faking two pregnancies months apart so she could take paid maternity leave.

Robin Folsom from Atlanta was accused of faking her pregnancy and even making up a fake father of the child to send an email to her employers seeking maternity leave, according to the New York Post. She sent pictures to her coworkers that she claimed were of her baby, but the inconsistent photographs showed children with different skin tones, officials said.

Folsom worked as the Director of External Affairs at Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA) and made about $100,000 per year.

The 43-year-old first reported the birth of a child in July 2020 and, months later, she informed human resources that she was pregnant again in October 2020. Folsom announced that she had given birth in May 2021, according to a statement released by the Georgia Office of the Inspector General.

The woman claimed she was pregnant again in August 2021. However, investigators found no official record of her being listed as a mother or any record of her giving birth, the release said.

A co-worker alerted authorities after noticing that Folsom’s baby bump was fake.

“In March 2021, a co-worker observed the lower portion of Folsom’s stomach ‘come away’ from her body and believed Folsom wore a fake pregnant stomach,” read the official statement. “In addition, Folsom allegedly sent pictures of her new baby to various GVRA employees, however, the pictures appeared to be inconsistent and depicted children with varying skin tones.”

When investigators questioned Folsom in October 2021, she firmly stood by her story and resigned shortly after. As part of the plot, she also allegedly made up a person named Bran Otmembebwe when speaking to the investigators and insisted he was the father of her children.

“We ultimately didn’t find any evidence that he existed. That’s why she’s also been charged with identity fraud,” State Inspector General Scott McAfee told Channel 2.

McAfee told Channel 2 that they began investigating Folsom’s stories last fall.

“The GVRA employees, the human resources, just started putting two and two together,” McAfee told the outlet. “Things weren’t adding up, and thankfully they didn’t shrug it off. They realized that this was something that was more serious.”

Folsom was indicted by a Fulton County grand jury on Feb. 10 and charged with three counts of making false statements and one count of identity fraud.