A Georgia woman named Robin Folsom faked a pregnancy in order to get seven weeks of paid time off – and it wasn’t even the first time she had lied about giving birth. Now, she’s facing three counts of making false statements and one count of identity fraud.
“When [Folsom’s employer] first sent us this case, we thought there had to be a misunderstanding. We couldn’t believe it,” said State Inspector General Scott McAfee.
According to anews releasesent out by the Georgia Office of the Inspector General (OIG), Folsom, 43, told elaborate lies about her “pregnancy” while working as the director of external affairs at the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA). She informed the agency about her pregnancy in late 2020 and claimed to give birth in May 2021.
But Folsom’s colleagues quickly grew suspicious. Though Folsom had a “baby bump,” something wasn’t quite right about it. “[I]n March 2021, a co-worker observed the lower portion of Folsom’s stomach ‘come away’ from her body and believed Folsom wore a fake pregnant stomach,” the news release explained.
“In addition, Folsom allegedly sent pictures of her new baby to various GVRA employees, however, the pictures appeared to be inconsistent and depicted children with varying skin tones.”