A woman, aged 62 and a mother of 13, is facing allegations of orchestrating a fraudulent scheme to expand her family without her husband’s knowledge. MaryBeth Lewis is accused of committing 30 criminal offenses by forging her husband Bob Lewis’ signature and pretending to be him during a virtual court session in an effort to secretly have two more children through surrogacy. While she has pleaded not guilty to the charges, she confessed to the deception in a recent interview, expressing frustration over the legal consequences.
Having initially given birth to five daughters, followed by twin girls just before turning 50, and later having more children with her husband, MaryBeth desired to further grow their family. Upon exhausting their own embryos, the couple resorted to using donor sperm and eggs to conceive additional children. MaryBeth, now 68, underwent IVF procedures to welcome their 11th, 12th, and finally their 13th child at the age of 62, despite medical warnings about the risks of further pregnancies.
MaryBeth’s deceitful actions unfolded when she allegedly engaged in an intricate surrogacy scam. She admitted to manipulating an IVF clinic into implanting a surrogate with embryos created from donor eggs and sperm without her husband’s consent. By impersonating Bob during a virtual hearing and engaging a surrogate to carry the children, MaryBeth managed to keep her plan hidden until legal documents revealed the scheme, leading to a police report by Bob and an ensuing investigation.
Despite the birth of their 14th and 15th children in November 2023, the couple’s twins were placed in foster care due to the ongoing legal complications surrounding the alleged fraud. Following court proceedings, the Lewises were recognized as the legal parents of the twins, but custody of the infants is still disputed by their foster family.
This incident marks a pattern of deceit by MaryBeth, as she had previously been accused of conceiving their 13th child without Bob’s full knowledge. While she maintains her innocence and has pleaded not guilty to all charges, MaryBeth is scheduled to appear in court on November 7 to address the allegations.
