An Oregon woman who helped run an animal rescue business conspired to defraud hundreds of pet adopters “by misrepresenting the extent” of the pets’ issues, prosecutors said.
Samantha Miller, 55, of Columbia County, also illegally dispensed prescription animal medication “without a lawful order of a veterinarian,” prosecutors said.
She was sentenced Jan. 16 to 37 months behind bars and three years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon said in a news release.
Miller also must pay restitution, prosecutors said.
McClatchy News reached out to Miller’s attorney Jan. 20 and was awaiting a response.
Miller helped run Woofin Palooza, which got animals from California shelters and rescues at no cost and then adopted them out for a fee in the Portland area, prosecutors said.
However, Miller wasn’t honest about the health and behavior histories of the pets, prosecutors said. She used “misleading or false statements” on the Woofin Palooza and Petfinder websites and “misrepresented the extent of health and behavioral issues in communications and contracts with the victims” upon adoption, prosecutors said.
Because of that, “victims unknowingly adopted unhealthy and aggressive animals and were forced to seek veterinary care and training, including euthanasia, often incurring significant expenses,” prosecutors said.
In one case, a border collie was euthanized within a week of being adopted after it was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia and distemper, prosecutors said.
In another case, a man said he was “wrecked” after adopting an aggressive dog that was described as friendly, according to prosecutors.
In another case, a dog described as “young and healthy” actually had bad teeth, vision loss, a throat tumor, a broken foot, a tick-born illness and worms, prosecutors said.
Woofin Palooza’s “neglect” deeply affected the dog and the adopter, prosecutors said.
“I know that my dog is not alone in her suffering. This operation’s cruelty caused lasting harm not only to the animals they sold but also to the families who unknowingly welcomed them into their homes, only to face immediate heartbreak and financial strain,” the woman who adopted the dog said, according to prosecutors.
Along with misleading adopters, Miller and others involved in Woofin Palooza “did not consistently get the pets the care the pets needed from a licensed veterinarian” and instead ignored the issues or tried treating the animals themselves, prosecutors said.
That included “administering prescription animal drugs to pets that were not prescribed to them by a licensed veterinarian and without the professional supervision of a licensed veterinarian,” prosecutors said.
Miller, who went by the alias Mandy Myers, pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to commit wire fraud and to misbranding drugs by dispensing prescription animal drugs without a lawful order of a veterinarian, prosecutors said.
“(The) sentence should make it clear to others engaged in unconscionable conduct that it will not be tolerated and they will be held responsible for their crimes,” Hannah Horsley, economic crimes unit chief, said in the news release.
A co-defendant has a sentencing hearing set for February, The Oregonian reported.
Columbia County is about a 40-mile drive northwest from Portland.