Thinking of adopting? Better watch for scams

— -- Michael Rhomberg and his wife, Ilysse, were ready to expand their family. Excited to adopt, the Rhombergs found self-proclaimed adoption specialist Kevin Cohen. But, they found out the hard way, it was all a scam.

"Kevin Cohen is a thief. A thief of dreams and of money and of, and of hearts, and that's all he'll ever be to me now," says Michael Rhomberg.

Cohen was sentenced in 2010 to 10 to 20 years in prison after being convicted of grand larceny and other charges in a scheme that prosecutors in Nassau County, N.Y., said netted more than $300,000 from people trying to adopt children.

He had told the Rhombergs he knew of a college student who wanted to give up her baby and that he needed $7,500 right away. The Rhombergs paid Cohen and in return he provided them with detailed medical records and a sonogram.

However, both were fake. The baby the Rhombergs thought they were going to adopt never existed.

For the thousands of families looking to adopt, Kevin Cohen's scheme — as told by CNBC's American Greed (Wednesdays, 10 p.m. ET/PT) — is a cautionary tale.

"It really is incredible that anyone would do this and, you know, had he stabbed me in the heart, it would have been less cruel," Ilysse Rhomberg said.

This is a scam Kevin Cohen would run over and over again, preying on those desperate to start a family.

There are more than 1.5 million adopted children in the United States according to recent census data. Adoption is both an emotional and financial transaction, and as with any financial transaction one has to be careful.

Adam Pertman, the executive director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute and author of "Adoption Nation," says the high cost of adopting is what attracts scammers.

"It's anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000 for an infant adoption in America today." Pertman said. "And sometimes it can be higher, so you can see why people are lured into it to make bucks instead of to do a service for real human beings."

While asking for money up front may not be a red flag, do not hesitate to ask for a breakdown of expenses. If that professional has been through the process before, he or she should know the costs, according to Pertman.

"If they have said it's pretty much going to be $25,000, say $30,000, and suddenly you're creeping up to $30,000 or $35,000, I think you have reason to start wondering what's going on here?" Pertman said.

Lynne Banks, the South Dakota representative for the American Adoption Congress, which advocates for pre-adoptive parents, says that 70% of the adoption scams she sees are financial, while the others are emotional.

According to Banks, an emotional scammer is someone who will contact potential adoptive parents stating they are pregnant and want to place a baby with them. In reality, this person is not pregnant and is simply out to get attention.

"We had one down in Iowa, and she would pretend to be other people," Banks said. "She was never pregnant, but she would contact people and would even meet up with them."

To avoid both emotional and financial scams when adopting, Banks says it is important to find a third party who can verify the credibility of the person or agency.