A 62-year-old mother of 13 children is facing legal trouble for allegedly orchestrating a scheme to have more children without her husband’s knowledge. MaryBeth Lewis is accused of committing fraud by forging her husband’s signature and impersonating him during a virtual court session to secretly pursue surrogacy for two additional children. Despite denying the charges, she confessed to her deceptive actions in a recent interview.
MaryBeth, a 68-year-old nurse, had already given birth to 10 children before seeking to expand her family further. When they ran out of their own embryos, the couple resorted to using donor sperm and eggs to conceive additional children. Through IVF treatments, they welcomed their 11th and 12th children when MaryBeth was 59 and their youngest child when she was 62.
MaryBeth’s deception allegedly began when she manipulated an IVF clinic into implanting a surrogate with embryos created using donor eggs and sperm without her husband’s consent. She went as far as impersonating her husband during a virtual court hearing by creating a fake Zoom account under his name. Her husband only discovered the scheme when important documents related to the surrogacy were delivered to their home.
In response to the betrayal, MaryBeth’s husband reported her to the authorities, leading to an investigation into the family. The couple’s 14th and 15th children were born amidst the legal turmoil, but they were placed in foster care due to the ongoing fraud investigation. While the Lewises have been declared the legal parents of the twins, they are still fighting to regain custody of their newborn son and daughter from their current foster family.
This is not the first time MaryBeth has been accused of blindsiding her husband in their journey to have children. She allegedly underwent a secret embryo implantation procedure during a previous IVF cycle, causing further strain in their relationship. MaryBeth has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is scheduled to appear in court on November 7.
