|
Post by Brooke on Jul 26, 2005 17:41:17 GMT -5
Posted on Tue, Jul. 26, 2005 Dog owners win fraud case
Judge orders seller to pay buyers $31,000.
By Mike Dooley The dogs had their day in Allen Superior Court on Monday. Actually, it was people who thought they were buying King Charles spaniels from Winifred J. Powelson who prevailed. The Indiana Attorney General's office brought suit against Powelson when it received complaints she failed to deliver registration papers to buyers, sold sick puppies and failed to deliver the sold dogs.
Powelson did not appear to contest the charges, so Judge Nancy Boyer granted a judgment on behalf of the state and the buyers. Boyer ordered Powelson to pay the buyers more than $31,000 for their expenses and nearly $27,000 to the attorney general's office.
Attorney General Steve Carter said Powelson, of Monroeville, had the same responsibilities as any person selling merchandise in the state. A total of 17 people, including four from Indiana, claimed Powelson had defrauded them.
Powelson sold the dogs under the name of her businesses, Victorian Manor Cavaliers and Primrose Manor Cavaliers. The American Kennel Club suspended her privileges to register puppies in September 2003 because of repeated complaints it received about misrepresentations.
|
|
|
Post by Brooke on Jul 29, 2005 20:15:44 GMT -5
Dog fraud fine tops $58,000
Woman failed to supply owners purebred proof By Sara Eaton
The Journal Gazette
An Allen County woman has been ordered to pay $58,307 to the Indiana Attorney General's Office for selling what she described as purebred dogs but failing to provide paperwork to prove it to customers.
Seventeen customers in seven states, none from northeast Indiana, will receive payments ranging from $300 to $5,166 in restitution totaling $31,326 for their expenses and losses after they purchased dogs from Winifred J. Powelson.
The remainder of the Allen Superior Court judgment - $26,981 - covers expenses incurred by the attorney general's office to investigate and prosecute the case and penalties for violating the Deceptive Consumer Sales Act, an order issued by Allen Superior Judge Nancy E. Boyer said.
Posted on Tue, Jul. 26, 2005
Attempts to reach Powelson on Monday were not successful. She lived in Monroeville when the lawsuit, which listed at least three other aliases for her, was filed in August.
According to court records, Powelson failed to appear for a trial in April. The judge found in favor of the state after conducting the trial in Powelson's absence.
The lawsuit alleged Powelson violated the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act in the sales of Cavalier King Charles spaniels by failing to provide eight new owners with documents that proved the dogs were purebred and registered with the American Kennel Club.
She also failed to provide refunds; for other customers she failed to cover medical expenses even thought she offered owners a one-year health guarantee.
At least one customer reported that they never received a puppy after paying for it, the lawsuit said.
|
|