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Detection of Genotype Recycling Fraud in U.S. Immigrants

NCJ Number
233529
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 56 Issue: S1 Dated: January 2011 Pages: S243-S246
Author(s)
Robert E. Wenk, M.D., M.S.
Date Published
January 2011
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Relationship testing laboratories provide genetic evidence to support or refute claims of kinship between U.S. citizen petitioners and potential immigrant beneficiaries.
Abstract
One female beneficiary presented a male amelogenin type and alleles at 15 autosomal loci that were identical to an alleged brother's. Laboratory records showed that her alleged father had petitioned to have 15 children emigrate from Ghana. The petitioner's 15 paternity indices exceeded 10 to the fifth power, but the children shared only 4 short tandem repeat (STR) profiles, suggesting fraudulent reuse of genotypes in this alleged pedigree (AP). To determine the extent of this "genotype recycling," the author examined the laboratory's 555 APs from Ghana and 532 control APs from Nigeria. Seventeen Ghanaian APs (3.1 percent) but no Nigerian APs showed genotype recycling. Of 90 tested people in the 17 APs, 56 shared identical STR profiles with others in their AP. Of these 56 people, 10 were petitioners with unexpectedly high parentage indices. Seven of 56 had amelogenin types that disagreed with their declared genders. Database searches for identical multilocus genotypes in allegedly different people would best detect this fraud. (Published Abstract)

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