Feds just raided AC4H

[Secretariat2]

Yeah and Hitler made the trains run on time. So she was a crook and a thug. She threatened people. One of her signature moves was to go check into the background of anyone who asked too many questions and look for ways to attack them. But some horses (if they were lucky) got saved after she extracted her pool money. But many, many horses ended up at places like HMER and starved to death. So hey, what’s the problem?

[QUOTE=Tommy’s Girl;6965908]
AC4H is described (by itself) as a broker owned program. I was never confused that they were basically a clearing house for horses in imminent danger of slaughter - I’ve never read anywhere that they had pens of horses in dedicated long-term care. The thing is, they got their hands dirty - and saved horses. How many? Who knows? But wouldn’t a few be enough? As for making some money off of the horses they sold, perhaps that’s why they did what they do for so long - a rescue mentioned in this thread closed because of lack of funds - how are they helping now? In a perfect world it would be great if maybe AC4H’s profit margin was smaller, but ultimately, they met the goal of saving horses. And anyone who purchased from them knew they were getting a horse that had been run through auction, and all of the problems associated with it - if you had buyer’s remorse that was tough, but you knew what you were getting into.

I personally think that her operation, while not squeaky clean or morally unimpeachable, moved more horses as a “rescue brokerage” than a static rescue can manage. If that earned her a pool for hot days, then so be it.[/QUOTE]

[Secretariat2]

I first ran afoul of the so charming Ms. Christy when I asked how she managed to make a living. I was accused of having an agenda and promptly banned from Mr. Brown’s forum.

[QUOTE=Discobold;6965932]
In fact, according to AC4H’s 990 from 2010 (the last year on file), Christy Sheidy worked an average of 70 hours per week for ZERO compensation. Her husband also received no compensation, according to the 990. Surely, they must be saints :eek:[/QUOTE]

[Secretariat2]

Sadly, I think this is true. In this wreck of an economy, it may be the only way left to make money from horses. The price of grain is so high that it is all I can do to take care of my 7 horses.

[QUOTE=7arabians;6965961]
Sketcher,

Save yourself some time and headaches and just admit that brokers/traders are identical to your favorite rescues, except that the rescues receive tax-exempt status. Folks hate to admit it, but that is the bare truth. Claiming that they ‘rehab’ them is silly as they continue to raise funds and post photos of progress along the way. And when a horse no longer fills the bill for fundrasing, look what happens! They knock them down, then say how sad they are that they had to say goodbye. Scammers, charlatans and racketeers have taken over the ‘rescue’ field and made it the fastest growing industry in the U.S.[/QUOTE]

[daisycutter87]

It is about time. Don’t let anyone try and fool you about the operation known as AC4H. While they have “saved” many horses from a certain fate, they are in business WITH the killbuyer they list horses for. They buy the horses for a few hundred dollars on auction day and turn around and list them for “rescue” for double or triple what they originally paid. If the horse doesn’t sell; they just ship it down the line and split what they do get for profit. The Sheidy’s have been known to personally purchase horses at the sale and “list” them as kill buyer owned. In fact, they are not.

I bought a horse through them awhile back, and while I love the horse, I would NEVER do it again. First off, I arrived at the “pick-up” barn in the backwoods of PA. It is not a farm. It is a concrete shed on a property with NO windows and all doors to the barn were locked up tight. It was 90 degrees outside and inside the stalls were FULL with sweating horses. The barn was swealtering inside; I could not believe what I was seeing. No water, and not one bale of hay in sight. The Sheidy’s were late to arrive to the pick up barn and we were waiting for a good 45 minutes. I spent that 45 minutes looking for any sign of hay, grain, etc. There was NO FEED on the property. I even checked the trailer parked next to the barn, nothing.

In addition; you can only pick-up horses at the “barn” for 2-3 hours. The barn was FULL, they were an hour late with paperwork and there was only one other trailer there, a stock trailer, to get horses. What about all of the other horses in that “barn”?

Do the horse’s a favor: if you want to rescue something from slaughter, go to the auction and buy something there. There are a lot of great horses that get run through auctions. Don’t feed the crooks. I’m glad the feds finally caught up with them.

You know when the sheidy’s take in almost $900,000 in donations and “rescue funds” there is fraud going on.

[Susan_P]

Somebody knows the intimate details, LOL

There had to be one defender and there had to be more than one horse that she sold that turned out well. When you deal that many horses something has to work out.

Time will tell.

[QUOTE=Snowflake;6966023]
And I don’t necessarily believe that it’s 100% the fault of AC4H. They see each horse for 10-15 minutes at a time and base the information on what they’re able to gain from the auction records and dealer/broker and also what they’re able to infer from their own experience.

Any horse bought from a dealer/broker or auction setting is bought caveat emptor. That’s the nature of the beast. If you can’t accept that as what it is, you should find a different means for acquiring a new horse.

I for one had a good experience with AC4H and Christy. They were more than forthcoming with me and very helpful in getting my big guy home. Until more information is known, I’m not taking a stand for or against their actions because I don’t know the very intimate details that led to the feds involvement. I don’t think any of us do. I’m staying neutral until the fog lifts, information is released and we can see everything clearly.

My thoughts are with the family - especially the children. This must be a very confusing and stressful time for them. Even if Rick and Christy strayed from their original mission and made mistakes that led to this end, it’s a heavy burden for the kids to bear.[/QUOTE]

[hundredacres]

[QUOTE=daisycutter87;6966208]
It is about time. Don’t let anyone try and fool you about the operation known as AC4H. While they have “saved” many horses from a certain fate, they are in business WITH the killbuyer they list horses for. They buy the horses for a few hundred dollars on auction day and turn around and list them for “rescue” for double or triple what they originally paid. If the horse doesn’t sell; they just ship it down the line and split what they do get for profit. The Sheidy’s have been known to personally purchase horses at the sale and “list” them as kill buyer owned. In fact, they are not.

I bought a horse through them awhile back, and while I love the horse, I would NEVER do it again. First off, I arrived at the “pick-up” barn in the backwoods of PA. It is not a farm. It is a concrete shed on a property with NO windows and all doors to the barn were locked up tight. It was 90 degrees outside and inside the stalls were FULL with sweating horses. The barn was swealtering inside; I could not believe what I was seeing. No water, and not one bale of hay in sight. The Sheidy’s were late to arrive to the pick up barn and we were waiting for a good 45 minutes. I spent that 45 minutes looking for any sign of hay, grain, etc. There was NO FEED on the property. I even checked the trailer parked next to the barn, nothing.

In addition; you can only pick-up horses at the “barn” for 2-3 hours. The barn was FULL, they were an hour late with paperwork and there was only one other trailer there, a stock trailer, to get horses. What about all of the other horses in that “barn”?

Do the horse’s a favor: if you want to rescue something from slaughter, go to the auction and buy something there. There are a lot of great horses that get run through auctions. Don’t feed the crooks. I’m glad the feds finally caught up with them.

You know when the sheidy’s take in almost $900,000 in donations and “rescue funds” there is fraud going on.[/QUOTE]

This explains why the horse I bought from them lost probably 150 pounds between the time they took his video, to the time he came home with me. It was about a week. He also had full blown strangles. I honestly thought they delivered the wrong horse, he looked so bad.

My heart breaks knowing this now.

[Fairfax]

[QUOTE=Angela Freda;6965924]
While other horses ship direct to slaughter out of the back pen from a race track you know has a zero tolerance policy? While she sells sick, lame, crazy horses to unsuspecting newbies who are then at risk for getting hurt not to mention the risk [of not being suited to what you were purchased to do] to the actual horse?
If she saves SO MANY… ‘how many stay saved’ should be the next question.
Is quantity really better than quality?

If you make any money from the rescue operation you run, claim it on the rescues 990s. I have not seen anyone argue that if it is your full time job to run the rescue, you shouldn’t get paid for that work.
To not claim the money you put in your own pocket though, is not legal.
Christy has repeatedly claimed to not make a dime off the rescue while close to a million dollars funnels through her rescue paypal account to… where? Brians pocket?

When a horse dies on the side of the road before reaching the adopter, when a horse ends up at New Bolton being treated for pneumonia, when other horses are sick, or blind, or lame while the rescue claimed they were suitable for riding/driving… and while the dealer [Moore] sells them, and they run through New Holland under the nose of a licensed Vet who should be enforcing the ‘not suitable to work’ sales regulation… no, sorry. People do not know what they are getting.

Of course it moved more horses than rescues can… because rescues rehab them, Vet them, get their farrier work up to date, get them gelded and vaccinated and they leave the rescue with a health cert and a coggins…

Is it better to move more horses, even if half or more are not suited for what you sold them to be and the homes who bought them… such that they get flipped again to another unsuspecting boob with ready cash in hand?
Or should, maybe, the horses welfare be taken into account and the horses be evaluated and rehab’d so that they find the most suitable home for what they can do so they stay in that home longer?[/QUOTE]

I have no doubt some of what you post is true. I am sure she was not a stellar member of the equine community. However she did save American Saddlebreds and I know because of the result printed on TROT.

The issue has been…and you ignore…save a horse from slaughter. Your buddy Jenm has stated that EVERY horse deserves to be saved. While you have mentioned that “some” may not be e…and you recognize the need for slaughter //these followers do not under stand that.You can continue to ignore DEFHR and GG who repeatedly have advertised horses, collected donations and not retured those. That is FRAUD…and I am so glad that the FBI has taken the first step. I am sure with the documentation they have received from us they can continue…this might just be a practice run.

The rescue business is now under the scope. Once it became the largest and fastesrt growing equine industry in the U.S. it was bound to garner much attention from fraudsters AND police.

While I didn’t like 4H I did acknowledge they saved horses. Isn’t THAT what is supposed to be done?

[goneriding24]

[QUOTE=daisycutter87;6966208]
It is about time. Don’t let anyone try and fool you about the operation known as AC4H. While they have “saved” many horses from a certain fate, they are in business WITH the killbuyer they list horses for. They buy the horses for a few hundred dollars on auction day and turn around and list them for “rescue” for double or triple what they originally paid. If the horse doesn’t sell; they just ship it down the line and split what they do get for profit. The Sheidy’s have been known to personally purchase horses at the sale and “list” them as kill buyer owned. In fact, they are not.

I bought a horse through them awhile back, and while I love the horse, I would NEVER do it again. First off, I arrived at the “pick-up” barn in the backwoods of PA. It is not a farm. It is a concrete shed on a property with NO windows and all doors to the barn were locked up tight. It was 90 degrees outside and inside the stalls were FULL with sweating horses. The barn was swealtering inside; I could not believe what I was seeing. No water, and not one bale of hay in sight. The Sheidy’s were late to arrive to the pick up barn and we were waiting for a good 45 minutes. I spent that 45 minutes looking for any sign of hay, grain, etc. There was NO FEED on the property. I even checked the trailer parked next to the barn, nothing.

In addition; you can only pick-up horses at the “barn” for 2-3 hours. The barn was FULL, they were an hour late with paperwork and there was only one other trailer there, a stock trailer, to get horses. What about all of the other horses in that “barn”?

Do the horse’s a favor: if you want to rescue something from slaughter, go to the auction and buy something there. There are a lot of great horses that get run through auctions. Don’t feed the crooks. I’m glad the feds finally caught up with them.

You know when the sheidy’s take in almost $900,000 in donations and “rescue funds” there is fraud going on.[/QUOTE]

I’m reading all this with interest. Going to a sale barn and buying is best. Sure you might get taken if you’re not careful but you’ll learn in the long run how to bid and know what to look for. To really ‘see’ a horse and what to do to help him. You’ll pay a lot less. You’ll pay a lot more getting him up to snuff on the bad ones and pay less or little on the better ones OR you might find a real diamond in the rough. That is such a lovely feeling!!

I was doing it wrong all those years!! I never came close to $900K, not even $100K!!

On my FB page, I always wondered why those horses had the prices and thought maybe prices are higher ‘back east’ than out here as an explanation.

Heh, I wonder what NNER is going to do, if they even know about this, all the non-profit/rescue angle going on and no horses up for adoption (the last I heard or checked).

[Secretariat2]

Strangles Central and no steps taken to even try and prevent it. And your horse was one of the lucky ones. I don’t believe in horse slaughter but I do believe there are worse fates for horses. The horses in that shed would have been grateful for any end to their suffering - even slaughter. Over $800,000 in expenses but somehow no money for hay and water for the horses in the shed. And people defend them.

[QUOTE=hundredacres;6966230]
This explains why the horse I bought from them lost probably 150 pounds between the time they took his video, to the time he came home with me. It was about a week. He also had full blown strangles. I honestly thought they delivered the wrong horse, he looked so bad.

My heart breaks knowing this now.[/QUOTE]

[Fairfax]

[QUOTE=LauraKY;6966043]
Don’t feed the trolls…they’re just here for attention. Put them on ignore and we’ll be able to keep the thread on topic.[/QUOTE]

Laura…it waqs YOUR buddy who requested the moderators shut down the thread due to name calling.

Ok…they may be out of business…for right or wrong…and to that I don’t know…who NOW is going to save at least SOME of the horses…or are you now saying ship them all to slaughter.

We have had your lack of solutions for so long it is amazing. I think you just post to complain about slaughter, those who rescue and everyone inbetween.

I guess you have fired the first shot with name calling. Nice!

[Fairfax]

[QUOTE=Secretariat2;6966252]
Strangles Central and no steps taken to even try and prevent it. And your horse was one of the lucky ones. I don’t believe in horse slaughter but I do believe there are worse fates for horses. The horses in that shed would have been grateful for any end to their suffering - even slaughter. Over $800,000 in expenses but somehow no money for hay and water for the horses in the shed. And people defend them.[/QUOTE]

I do not think anyone is defending them. We are saying it is an oxymoron because we have been so critical of them in the past but they HAVE saved horses.

If they have committed fraud, they deserve to be charged and let the legal system work its magic.

HOWEVER…we have so many cases of fraud regarding GG and DEFHR in their advertising horses asking for donations…and their attempts top silence people they have seized horses from.I am sure they will also come under the gun.

I expect their computers are swept clean as we speak.

Something you might not know…DEFHR and GG both BILL for volunteer hours.

While not truly illegal…it does raise eyebrows…especially with IRS and FBI.

Time will tell…and I won’t wait for Angela, LauraK, Jenm or Luvy to have any solutions. Nor will they become involved in any rescue movement that ACTUALLY saves any horses.

[Secretariat2]

Maybe it could be someone who saves horses without leaving them for who knows how long, in a concrete barn in 90 degree heat with no food or water. And this is not the first time I’ve heard these kind of horror stories about AC4H.

[QUOTE=Fairfax;6966261]
Laura…it waqs YOUR buddy who requested the moderators shut down the thread due to name calling.

Ok…they may be out of business…for right or wrong…and to that I don’t know…who NOW is going to save at least SOME of the horses…or are you now saying ship them all to slaughter.

We have had your lack of solutions for so long it is amazing. I think you just post to complain about slaughter, those who rescue and everyone inbetween.

I guess you have fired the first shot with name calling. Nice![/QUOTE]

[Secretariat2]

Well I’ve saved 5 OTTBs myself. You seem to think that AC4H was doing some kind of public service. Anyone who goes to the track and buys an OTTB is “actively involved in a rescue movement that ACTUALLY saves any horses”. Same for people who buy horses at auction or Craigs List. I didn’t even have a problem with Camelot. At least the horses had food and water and you didn’t have to go to a shed in the middle of nowhere to pick up the horse. I agree that AC4H are not the only villains in “rescue” but they are probably the worst.

[QUOTE=Fairfax;6966271]
I do not think anyone is defending them. We are saying it is an oxymoron because we have been so critical of them in the past but they HAVE saved horses.

If they have committed fraud, they deserve to be charged and let the legal system work its magic.

HOWEVER…we have so many cases of fraud regarding GG and DEFHR in their advertising horses asking for donations…and their attempts top silence people they have seized horses from.I am sure they will also come under the gun.

I expect their computers are swept clean as we speak.

Something you might not know…DEFHR and GG both BILL for volunteer hours.

While not truly illegal…it does raise eyebrows…especially with IRS and FBI.

Time will tell…and I won’t wait for Angela, LauraK, Jenm or Luvy to have any solutions. Nor will they become involved in any rescue movement that ACTUALLY saves any horses.[/QUOTE]

[hundredacres]

Ac4h didn’t save any horses. The people who sent their money and were lucky enough to get the animal into their barn saved those horses. They don’t care about the horses - the buyers do. I’m so disgusted right now, knowing my horse had to live through that for a week - knowing that thousands of others have had to as well, or worse, are standing in that f’ing barn this very moment.

Don’t give them an ounce of credit for saving anything.

[mvp]

[QUOTE=Tommy’s Girl;6965908]
As for making some money off of the horses they sold, perhaps that’s why they did what they do for so long - a rescue mentioned in this thread closed because of lack of funds - how are they helping now? In a perfect world it would be great if maybe AC4H’s profit margin was smaller, but ultimately, they met the goal of saving horses. And anyone who purchased from them knew they were getting a horse that had been run through auction, and all of the problems associated with it - if you had buyer’s remorse that was tough, but you knew what you were getting into.[/QUOTE]

What? “In a perfect world, their profit margins would be smaller?” Shee1t, I’d have more money in my pocket if I practiced tax evasion, too. And I might be running the Mother Theresa of enterprises. My guess is that if their profit margins were smaller, they wouldn’t be trading horses.

[IdahoRider]

The thing is, they got their hands dirty - and saved horses. How many? Who knows? But wouldn’t a few be enough? As for making some money off of the horses they sold, perhaps that’s why they did what they do for so long - a rescue mentioned in this thread closed because of lack of funds - how are they helping now? In a perfect world it would be great if maybe AC4H’s profit margin was smaller, but ultimately, they met the goal of saving horses.

But what if the goal wasn’t to save horses? What if the goal was to get as much money as possible from the greatest number of people in the quickest, easiest way possible?

What if the “rescue” model used by AC4H was just the method they chose to reach their goal? It had nothing to do with horses specifically, or saving them. If they could have used the same model to sell broken clocks, that is what they would have been selling.

The internet has been a boon in so many ways. It has widened the net of possibilities for animals in need. Which can be a good thing. But the flip side of that is the fact that it has also made it easier to people to run scams. And the double/triple dipping, blurring of lines between “donations” and “income”, the over-reliance on emotionally charged language, the iron clad rules regarding communication and the response of a standard, “You must hate horses/want them to die if you question how we do business, because I am too busy saving them to answer all your paranoid questions” when anyone questions what is going on behind the scenes is what these people use to keep their operation going as long as possible.

AC4H is not the first business that noticed the internet was a hot bed of possibilities, and that the very disconnect created by long distances and no face-to-face contact between participants make it such a successful tool for those who want to take advantage of others.

This legal activity with AC4H will probably end up being about the money, since that is usually what people like that get caught on. Money leaves a trail that emotion doesn’t.
Sheilah

[mvp]

[QUOTE=Discobold;6965932]
In fact, according to AC4H’s 990 from 2010 (the last year on file), Christy Sheidy worked an average of 70 hours per week for ZERO compensation. Her husband also received no compensation, according to the 990. Surely, they must be saints :eek:[/QUOTE]

Even modern-day saints have to pay the electricity bill. Where are they getting their money, if not from their 70-hour a week job of saving horses?

[danceronice]

[QUOTE=sketcher;6965974]
There is nothing wrong in my mind with rescues acting as brokers. If they can pull horses from the auction, sell them and get enough money to pay their expenses on the ones who do not sell quickly, I do not see a problem with that. [/QUOTE]

Yeah, this is something about non-profits that I wish more people would understand…the problem is NOT taking in more money than you spend. A fiscally-responsible non-profit will do that. The point is that the profit has to go into the organization’s operating costs. It doesn’t go to shareholders and while you CAN pay a salary (and the IRS will notice if that salary’s way off base–the director of a tiny dog rescue in Podunk should not be drawing the same salary as the head of the Red Cross, who’s basically a CEO of a Fortune 500-sized corporation) it can’t just be commingled with the owner’s personal funds.

Also: a non-profit does not have to be a 501©3 to be legitimate. That just means that your donations are tax-deductible and that they are meeting federal financial requirements (filing the appropriate paperwork) and are subject to audit and investigation.

Maybe the horses will wind up at Camelot if they get sold on, which AFAIK makes no pretext of being a non-profit or fund-raising rescue, and I’ve never heard of the owner sending the wrong hip number to a long-distance buyer…and the crazies probably won’t end up in #10’s pen there anyway.

[IdahoRider]

Ignore the bait, keep the thread on topic. Total disengagement is the only response possible.
Sheilah

[downen]

Here’s what I don’t get: I saw the video of Cindy defending herself. She lives in what looks like a glorified double-wide with a craptastic car parked out front and lawn ornaments in the yard. Same with Jill Burnell, living in a camper with no electricity. So where is all this embezzled money going? Don’t get me wrong, I think they are all scum, but if they are making all this money scamming people, what are they doing with it? It sure doesn’t show on the outside. And if they really aren’t making that much money, what is their payoff? The thrill of the scam? I just don’t get it.