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Case #6460 Rating: 3.2 out of 5
Online puppy dealer - 9 counts fraud, theft
Fort Payne, AL (US)Incident Date: Friday, Dec 10, 2004
County: DeKalb
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 1 files available
Defendant/Suspect: Barbara Back
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
An Alabama woman trailed by customer complaints has been indicted on nine counts of theft by deception.
Barbara Back was arrested by Dekalb County deputies December 10, 2004, after nine separate customers filed complaints about how Back ran her online puppy service.
When NBC first asked Back last week about several complaints filed against her online puppy operation, she claimed they were completely unfounded. "Everybody gets a dog that's supposed to be getting a dog," said Back. "I don't know what's going on. They did an investigation and apparently found nothing."
However, the charges stem from complaints filed by nine customers across the country, like Jeanette Ebenau in New Jersey. She paid Back a $500 deposit for a bulldog, but when she changed her mind, Back wouldn't refund her money. Rhonda Jackson, a Dekalb County investigator, said Ebenau's complaint was one of the reasons she launched the investigation in April 2004. "She missed ship dates several times after they were already paid for," said Jackson. "Some of the people requested their money back, seeing that they weren't going to get a puppy, and she would say she'd refund the money, but they never got the money or the puppy."
According to allegations made by dozens of complainants to The HSUS and others, puppy dealer Barbara Bach has been defrauding consumers and hurting animals by selling sick puppies over the Internet. In recent years, reports having been piling up of seriously ill and underage puppies being shipped from Barbara Bach to unwitting buyers as far away as New York and California.
While the local SPCA is investigating Ms. Bach for numerous animal cruelty complaints, The HSUS has asked the DeKalb County District sheriff's office to pursue allegations of fraud and theft against Ms. Bach as well, in violation of Alabama's Theft laws.
Back maintained that customers are told up front deposits are non-refundable. She is currently out on $5,000 bond and faces a maximum of 90 years in prison if convicted.
Case UpdatesA Fort Payne woman has been sentenced to two years probation after pleading guilty to theft charges related to the operation of a puppy mill.
Barbara Beck entered the plea Monday, Feb 13, avoiding a jury trial set to begin that day in DeKalb County Circuit Court.
DeKalb County Sheriff's Investigator Rhonda Jackson said Beck sold puppies from her Fort Payne home using the Internet. Jackson said there were numerous complaints filed in 2004 from Beck's would-be customers from all across the country, claiming receipt of a sick puppy, the wrong puppy or no puppy at all.
Jackson said some of the dogs were being kept in small crates at Beck's home, adjacent to an outdoor storage area.
DeKalb County Assistant District Attorney Scott Lloyd said Beck pleaded guilty to nine counts of theft by deception. He said each charge stemmed from an individual customer complaint.
Lloyd said many of those customers asked for their money back. He said a restitution hearing is scheduled for April. | Source: Times-Journal - Feb 17, 2006
Update posted on Mar 6, 2006 - 5:24PM |
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