An Australian woman who ran a keepsake ultrasound service has pleaded guilty to providing fake images to expecting mothers, according to a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
Rawinia Hayes changed her plea to guilty just as her trial was starting, according to a report on ABC's website. She was fined $6,000 Australian ($4,458 U.S.) and was ordered to pay court costs.
Hayes operated Amazing 4D Imaging, marketing a service that supposedly provided keepsake ultrasound images to pregnant mothers in Western Australia. But Australian authorities say that Hayes had no training in ultrasound scanning, and that she merely provided the women with fetal ultrasound images she had found online.
The scheme was discovered when one of Hayes' customers noticed serial numbers and names on the back of her image that were different from what she saw on her live ultrasound and DVD. Other women came forward after the customer posted her story on Facebook.
Australian authorities received 76 complaints about Hayes and her company, according to the ABC article. Hayes' attorney said she had purchased an ultrasound scanner in June 2010 but had no training in how to operate the machine, the story noted.
