Co-Worker Noticing Fake Baby Bump Unravels Woman's Scheme To Get Unwarranted Maternity Leave, Authorities Say

A former Georgia state employee now faces criminal charges after she allegedly faked multiple pregnancies for paid time off.

Robin Folsom, 43, of Atlanta, was indicted on Feb. 10 on three counts of false statements and one count of identity fraud, according to an indictment obtained by Oxygen.com.

Folsom is a former employee of the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency, where she allegedly abused the use of family medical leave under false pretenses, a Monday press release from the Georgia Office of the Attorney General states. She allegedly told the agency’s human resources at the former job, where she supervised the agency’s marketing and media communications, in late 2020 that she was pregnant, according to the Office of the Inspector General. In May of 2021, the department got an email from a person who claimed to be the baby’s father, announcing a birth. In turn, the agency approved about seven weeks of paid leave for Folsom. 

However, one of Folsom’s co-workers noticed that something seemed off and they blew the whistle, notifiying the Office of the Inspector General.

In March of 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,” a press release from the Inspector General states. “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.”

A later review of medical and insurance records found no sign that Folsom had ever had a child. She had earlier reported the birth of a child in July 2020, and had also claimed she was pregnant in August 2021.

Folsom resigned in October of 2021, not long after being interviewed by state investigators. At her role of  director of external affairs at GVRA, she made $100,000 a year, according to WSB-TV. It’s not clear if she has an attorney. She faces up to 10 years behind bars for identity fraud and up to five years in prison for each charge of making false statements.

“All state employees, and especially those that communicate with the media and general public on behalf on their agency, should be held to the highest standards of integrity and honesty,”  State Inspector General Scott McAfee stated on Monday. “OIG will continue to hold state employees accountable if they choose to deceive their superiors and receive undeserved compensation.”