(SF)

GREENWOOD, S.C. -- A Greenwood County couple has been arrested in connection with a surrogate parenting scheme that, police say, bilked thousands of dollars from prospective parents all over the country.

Deputies said that Jessica O'Donnell, 28, promised to give victims a baby and never delivered, even going so far as arranging for sperm samples to be shipped along with payments.

She is charged with six counts of obtaining money by false pretenses and is still in jail. Bond in the case has been set at $150,000.

Investigators said that O'Donnell solicited potential victims from across the country, telling them that she wanted to help people because her husband had been killed in Iraq.

O'Donnell would even send her potential victims a picture of a soldier she claimed was her late husband, deputies said.

O'Donnell's real husband has been arrested and faces the same charges as his wife. Deputies say he knew about the scam the whole time.

Investigators said that among the evidence they found were fake driver's licenses, moneygrams, computers used to e-mail potential victims and even coolers intended for the shipment of specimens to be used in artificial insemination of the "surrogate" mother.

"The male would make the contribution and then (O'Donnell) would tell them to package it in ice in freezer bags in these coolers and then ship it to a certain destination where she'd pick it up along with the money," Greenwood County Sheriff's Maj. John Murray said.

Deputies said that they are searching the computers, hoping to find additional e-mails from prospective parents.

Investigators said that they have already been able to track down some people who say they were scammed by O'Donnell.

A Missouri woman said that she responded to an ad posted by O'Donnell, but got suspicious before ever sending money.

"It terrified me because my husband and I wanted children for 18 years," Jill Brixey told WYFF News 4. "We're just now deciding to take a leap of faith and check this out and do it this way. She was the first person we had any contact with about surrogacy and this is the experience we've had."

Helping the investigation were blog postings warning about O'Donnell.

"Once we punched her name in, then 'boom,' Murrray said. "Everything started coming up on the Internet and we found a lot of victims that way."

Deputies said they aren't sure how many potential victims may be out there and that the investigation is far from over.

Greenwood police Maj. John Murray said that O'Donnell claims that she is 15 weeks pregnant with her husband's child. Investigators are awaiting tests to determine if she is pregnant.

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