Some justice for some hopeful parents came out of a court sentencing earlier this week in California. In an unfortunate fraud case where a California surrogate parenting agent collected money from clients and never delivered on services paid for, a judge has ordered restitution in the amount of $1.7 million dollars.

When considering any type of assistance with starting or building a family, taking the time to do the proper research can prove to be crucial. Ask for references, search the internet and scrutinize as much as possible to avoid situations like this one.

Associated Press: MODESTO, Calif.—A federal judge has ordered the owner of a surrogate parenting agency to pay $1.7 million to the victims of a fraud scheme carried out through her Central California-based operation.

The U.S. Attorney’s office said 37-year-old Tonya Ann Collins—the owner of the defunct Surrogenesis agency in Modesto—was ordered to pay the restitution on Monday.

Collins was sentenced in May to five years and three months in prison.

The government said Collins took money from prospective parents and used it for personal expenses, including automobiles, homes, jewelry, clothing and vacations, between 2006 and 2009.

As a result, Collins’ clients, surrogates and other businesses suffered losses of more than $2.4 million.

Prosecutors said that in some cases, victims couldn’t afford a surrogate pregnancy again.

Norway is considering a sperm-donor registry to assist children who were conceived via an anonymous sperm donor, have a chance at learning more about their biological father. But it’s not just about finding out about a biological parent, it’s more about learning of potential health issues and also potentially meeting half siblings. After being told they were conceived using an anonymous donor, there is an obvious and expected shock, and after a period of confusion, questions as well as curiosities begin to take over. Meeting a half sibling could be something very exciting for a child in that situation. But what about the donor? As an anonymous donor, he most likely never intended to have any form of communication with offspring conceived by his sperm. He might have never imagined that his future children that he raised would meet a child that he didn’t even know existed. There are so many different scenarios here and with all the options out there to conceive children, it’s beginning to become a bit tricky, especially when an anonymous sperm donor is involved.  More from TheLocal below:

Some 26,000 children have been conceived with the help of a sperm donor in Norway since treatment began in 1984. About 1,000 of the pregnancy were made possible by an anonymous donor.

Lars Ødegård, chairman of Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board, told the NRK network that Norway should consider offering assistance to any children who want to find out more about their biological father, or indeed find any half-siblings.

When Maria Kathinca Nilsen Rydeng found out her father was not her biological father, she began looking into whether she had any half-siblings.

“It’s not important for me to find my biological father, but to find siblings would be very exciting,” she told NRK, adding that she was using Facebook to try to locate any brothers or sisters.

“To have a biological bond with each other is special. I always thought I was an only child, and now it turns out I might have a lot of siblings,” she said.

“I wonder if we look like each other.”

The actor most famous for his role in “Lost Boys,” has been in the tabloids for months now as he tries to continue to gain parental rights to his son who was born to his ex-girlfriend via artificial insemination. At the time, he had agreed to donate his sperm to her in order for her to conceive. After a long legal battle, he is now trying to change state law to allow sperm donors, in certain situations, to become legal parents and share custody of the children that result from their seed.

Proponents of Senate Bill 115 say it will close a legal loophole that forbids certain sperm donors from being recognized as fathers when an unmarried woman is impregnated with their sperm.

The other side says the proposal could grant parenting rights to sperm donors against the wishes of a child’s legal parents. They say the bill is an attempt by Patric to overturn a court ruling that he lost.

“This bill should never be heard by the Legislature,” said Richard Harris, a lobbyist representing Schreiber and her family.

“You don’t use the Legislature to interfere in a court case just because you’re some Hollywood schmo.”

Read more here.