California woman gets "old west" justice for horse fraud scheme

California woman gets "old west" justice for horse fraud scheme

22 April 2011

Now THIS is the news we love to hear at NetPosse.com! Rarely does justice get handed down as hard as this in a civil case. It is as close to the "old west" kind of justice we can get in the 21st century!

NetPosse deals with these cases year after year, and few victims can stand victorious. Many of you will remember hearing about Trina Lee Kenney of Wrightwood, California. Now you can see the results of people standing up and not backing down!

A federal judge ordered the 32-year-old woman to pay $272,609.50 to 88 victims in 23 states and Canada. She has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison. Now that is what we call justice at NetPosse.com!

Kenney offered horses for sale on equine-related websites including horsetopia.com, equine.com, agdirect.com, equinenow.com, and dreamhorse.com between November 2004 and June 2008 and used the websites to advertise her horses. Her business names included Prestige Distribution, Horses and Ponies and Star Horses.

When customers ordered a horse based on her statements, prosecutors say, she would deliver substandard horses, different horses or no horses at all.  Federal authorities accused Kenney of falsifying claims about the breed, registration information, health of the animal, skills, and characteristics of horses she sold on the equine sites.

Kenney's activities were exposed when disgruntled customers filed complaints with the FBI's Internet crimes division. While under investigation Kenney attempted to sell a Friesian mare named Azure, to a  postal inspector and an undercover FBI agent.  After receiving payments for the horse, she failed to respond to their email and other inquiries about the sales transaction.

Kenney has pleaded guilty to mail fraud, confessing that she defrauded potential horse buyers in 23 states and Canada.

Kenney admitted she had drugged horses to make them appear docile and that she had painted at least two horses to make them appear black, rather than their natural brown color, according to a written statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office of Central California, when she pleaded guilty.

Prosecutors say horses were delivered sick, starved, covered in sores and unable to walk.
United States District Judge A. Howard Matz handed down Kenney's sentence on April 14, 2011.

Resources:

Wrightwood woman who drugged, painted horses as part of sales scam sentenced
Woman Sentenced to 48 Months in Horse Fraud Case

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