Woman ‘faked pregnancy’ to get paid time off from job, say authorities

She could now be facing huge fines and serious jail time.

A woman has been accused of faking her pregnancy to get paid time off work after co-workers noticed something a little off about her bump. One of 43-year-old Robin Folsom's colleagues raised the alarm just a couple of months before her due date when they noticed her baby bump looked askew. The lower part appeared to "come away" from her body and they became suspicious she was wearing a fake pregnant stomach, a news release states. Robin, who worked as director of external affairs for the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency, first told her boss she was pregnant October 2020 and maternity leave was arranged. She later announced that she had given birth on 1 May 2021. She claimed the father of the child was a man named Bran Otmembebwe. Following the birth in May, the company received emails from a person claiming to be Bran Otmembebwe saying that Robin's doctors had "mandated several weeks of rest following the delivery". She was given seven more weeks of paid leave "that it otherwise would not have approved". After she "gave birth", Robin sent baby photos to several colleagues but they quickly noticed that the images were not of the same child due to "varying skin tones." According to the Georgia Office of the Inspector General, this was not the first time Robin had done something like this. She had also claimed to have previously given birth in July 2020 and received paid maternity leave from the same job. However, investigators did not find any official records to prove Robin had given birth and her medical insurance records didn't show any charges for prenatal exams or delivery. Robin resigned from her job in October 2021 after being interviewed about faking the pregnancies. She continued to insist that Bran Otmembebwe was a real person despite investigators finding no proof of his existence. "Fraud by state employees will not be tolerated,” state Attorney General Chris Carr said in a statement. “By working with Georgia’s independent Inspector General, we were able to discover, investigate and put an end to this alleged deception. We will always stand up to protect taxpayer dollars, and we look forward to presenting our case in court." Folsom will appear in court on April 4, facing a maximum of 25 years in prison and up fines of up to $103,000 (€90,792) if found guilty.