WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — A West Valley City woman who had allegedly agreed to serve as a surrogate to a couple wanting children is now facing charges accusing her of scamming the couple out of thousands of dollars by lying about her pregnancy.
Teresa Mertes, 33, was charged in Salt Lake County with one count each of Extortion, Attempted Extortion and Attempted Theft by Deception.
“This is really a first for me, in terms of these are not the kind of issues that you typically see,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill.
The indictment against Mertes shows that she had entered into a surrogacy agreement with a Washington, DC couple last year.
During the alleged pregnancy, the couple said Mertes would send "concerning updates" about her and the fetus' health. On Oct. 21, Mertes allegedly contacted the couple and threatened to use a drug used to prevent stomach ulcers to terminate the pregnancy if she wasn't sent $7,000 in addition to the amounts previously agreed upon.
“[The couple is] emotionally invested," Gill added. "They're financially invested, they want to make sure this is a healthy pregnancy, and they want to be able to have access to a child that they want to bring into their family.”
Following the threat, the couple sent Mertes $2,500 on Halloween, only for Mertes to contact the couple on December 6, claiming that she had miscarried. She then demanded an additional $2,500 to consent to a records release and for the fetus' remains.
However, investigators said the miscarriage was a lie and the baby was born at a later date.
Around the Christmas holiday, the couple received a call telling them that Mertes was in the hospital in "medical distress." The couple immediately flew to Utah and were informed that Mertes refused to consent to the recommended care of the medical team and that the baby was in danger if she continued to refuse treatment.
Mertes stated that she would leave the hospital against medical advice and refuse to consent to a C-section or induction of birth if the couple didn't pay her an additional $15,000.
Investigators claim Mertes' refusal to follow medical advice and disclose her medical history likely resulted in the medical distress and the baby being born prematurely at 33 weeks.
While Gill was unable to confirm whether either of the parties had attorneys present during the initial agreement, he said it all comes down to whether or not people are willing to follow that agreement.
“Any agreement is only as good as what people are bringing to it, right? So you can't change that ... it really comes down to human agency. It comes down to individuals who chose to engage," explained Gill. "[Mertes] chose, allegedly chose, to engage in this fraudulent and deceptive practice.”
While reviewing Mertes' medical records, the indictment showed the couple allegedly found "additional deceptions" that included prior pregnancy complications.
When a detective with the West Valley City Police Department contacted a doctor who had previously cared for Mertes over concerns about her health, the doctor said she had claimed she had a stillbirth and was at a Spanish Fork hospital. However, the hospital denied ever seeing Mertes.
When detectives contacted Mertes to discuss the claims the couple had made against her, she claimed again to have had a stillbirth due to high blood pressure.
