[QUOTE=Angela Freda;7442897]
I have no idea.
Did Lisa G? [I have not read much of the news reports other than to see what rescue was involved and the amount of money].[/QUOTE]
Some of the charges have to do with falsification and lying under oath, yes. Obviously “innocent until proven guilty” means we can’t just say “yes” 
[QUOTE=bustedupcowgirl;7442424]
This is the full court document of all 17 charges. Number 68 under count 13 Lisa admits to some of her spending sprees. Hard to make a plea you were picking something up for the horses at Victoria’s Secret, LOL.
https://ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Files/Briefing-Room/News-Releases/Charitable-Law/2014-02-20-Frog-Pond-Farm-Inc-Complaint-(time-stam[/QUOTE]
Well, color me embarrassed. 
Will wait to see how the whole thing shakes out, but it doesn’t look good. Sigh . . .
Anyone know why this is considered a lawsuit as opposed to prosecution? It does say she faces fines and possible jail time which isn’t the norm in lawsuits.
I remember when Olly had what they thought was hind gut ulcers (I think?) and she kept posting how he was back to eating hay normal again. I had PMed her and suggested that they look into the feeding treatment for that as hay wasn’t going to help him any. I even linked to Vet University papers on it and she just kept on keeping on how she was feeding him.
I also find it strange that their mission is to save horses and adopt them out, yet Dawby and Fargo remain on as her personal horses and she refuses to adopt them out. Would be interesting to see what funds purchased them, and if there is a transaction showing her purchasing them from the rescue.
[QUOTE=Laurierace;7442919]
Anyone know why this is considered a lawsuit as opposed to prosecution? It does say she faces fines and possible jail time which isn’t the norm in lawsuits.[/QUOTE]
Looks like a prosecution to me.
[QUOTE=SuckerForHorses;7442932]
I remember when Olly had what they thought was hind gut ulcers (I think?) and she kept posting how he was back to eating hay normal again. I had PMed her and suggested that they look into the feeding treatment for that as hay wasn’t going to help him any. I even linked to Vet University papers on it and she just kept on keeping on how she was feeding him.
I also find it strange that their mission is to save horses and adopt them out, yet Dawby and Fargo remain on as her personal horses and she refuses to adopt them out. Would be interesting to see what funds purchased them, and if there is a transaction showing her purchasing them from the rescue.[/QUOTE]
Meh some rescues have those that stay in the rescue as mascots as it were.
I’m not too excited about that unless it’s a rescue that says they adopt out and then keep, for years, say ALL FORTY ‘unique’ [claim to be special, rare breeds or examples of rare lineage, or whatnot] horses that they have in said ‘rescue’, animals that are supported with donated funds 100%
It is sad that so many rescues seem to have issues of some type.
[QUOTE=SuckerForHorses;7442932]
I remember when Olly had what they thought was hind gut ulcers (I think?) and she kept posting how he was back to eating hay normal again. I had PMed her and suggested that they look into the feeding treatment for that as hay wasn’t going to help him any. I even linked to Vet University papers on it and she just kept on keeping on how she was feeding him.
I also find it strange that their mission is to save horses and adopt them out, yet Dawby and Fargo remain on as her personal horses and she refuses to adopt them out. Would be interesting to see what funds purchased them, and if there is a transaction showing her purchasing them from the rescue.[/QUOTE]
I know there is a rescue near me who took in a horse in the early, early days that came with a ‘trust fund’, if you will, with the stipulation that he live out his life at the rescue and not be adopted out - which he did.
However, those cases are EXTREMELY rare!
[QUOTE=2horseygirls;7442987]
I know there is a rescue near me who took in a horse in the early, early days that came with a ‘trust fund’, if you will, with the stipulation that he live out his life at the rescue and not be adopted out - which he did.
However, those cases are EXTREMELY rare![/QUOTE]
Right, but that isn’t what happened with Dawby and Fargo (from what I can recall from following her facebook page). Nobody sent them to FPF with a trust fund. They were rescues that Lisa decided to keep on. Dawby is a perfectly healthy young draft; there really is no reason to keep him when he could be sold and the money could benefit the remaining drafts that need help.
[QUOTE=SuckerForHorses;7442422]
https://ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Files/Briefing-Room/News-Releases/Charitable-Law/2014-02-20-Frog-Pond-Farm-Inc-Complaint-(time-stam[/QUOTE]
http://www.nj.gov/lps/ca/press/03212012CO.pdf
Some similarities, at least on my cursory perusal
[QUOTE=Angela Freda;7443013]
http://www.nj.gov/lps/ca/press/03212012CO.pdf
Some similarities, at least on my cursory perusal[/QUOTE]
There’s really no excuse for either one. I’m really happy to see the AG finally going after some of these crooked rescues. They give all rescues a bad name.
[QUOTE=LauraKY;7443043]
There’s really no excuse for either one. I’m really happy to see the AG finally going after some of these crooked rescues. They give all rescues a bad name.[/QUOTE]
Agreed.
Perhaps the Victoria’s Secret purchase was legitimate- maybe the goods were used for fundraising. 
Kidding, of course. I’m not familiar with the rescue or the rescue director, so I will without any real comment. I feel bad for the horses, who are the ones who ultimately lose as a result of this situation.
Is this the same rescue which was a 503© and then dropped it to become private because people had started complaining about financial improprieties?? Or was that another one?
I though i remembered reading that on her page at some point.
Also, Serenity dissolving is such a WIN for horses around here. I’m not saying Frog Pond was great, but Serenity was a horse concentration camp.
[QUOTE=goneriding24;7443308]
Is this the same rescue which was a 503© and then dropped it to become private because people had started complaining about financial improprieties?? Or was that another one?[/QUOTE]
Frog Pond has never been a 501©3 and never held herself out as one - she’s always been clear that she’s private. But she WAS a registered non-profit corporation in the State of Ohio and had made an announcement last year sometime about dissolving the non-profit and going to a for-profit. I thought that was done at the time, but she continued to fund raise, etc. Then the day after this was filed she announced that “big changes” were coming with a post about turning the rescue into a boarding/training facility and being a for-profit corporation, and signing over the animals to the for-profit corporation.
The only thing that really bothers me about this is that people are being so fanatical about it all being a “rail road”, how she takes good care of the horses, etc. I wish people would actually READ the documents. No one has alleged abuse or neglect. The allegations are financial and lying - and according to the complaint she admits to using donated funds at places that are hard to explain. The other part is the Attorney General doesn’t just go into this kind of thing lightly. The complaint makes it clear there was an investigation, letters from Frog Pond, even an 'Examination under oath" …
[QUOTE=Tif_Ann;7443352]
Frog Pond has never been a 501©3 and never held herself out as one - she’s always been clear that she’s private. But she WAS a registered non-profit corporation in the State of Ohio and had made an announcement last year sometime about dissolving the non-profit and going to a for-profit. I thought that was done at the time, but she continued to fund raise, etc. Then the day after this was filed she announced that “big changes” were coming with a post about turning the rescue into a boarding/training facility and being a for-profit corporation, and signing over the animals to the for-profit corporation.
The only thing that really bothers me about this is that people are being so fanatical about it all being a “rail road”, how she takes good care of the horses, etc. I wish people would actually READ the documents. No one has alleged abuse or neglect. The allegations are financial and lying - and according to the complaint she admits to using donated funds at places that are hard to explain. The other part is the Attorney General doesn’t just go into this kind of thing lightly. The complaint makes it clear there was an investigation, letters from Frog Pond, even an 'Examination under oath" …[/QUOTE]
Okay, that may be it. I get a lot of these places mixed up. I read about them and then sort of drop them from my mind, only to be brought up again if a post mentions it.
[QUOTE=Tif_Ann;7443352]
Frog Pond has never been a 501©3 and never held herself out as one - she’s always been clear that she’s private. But she WAS a registered non-profit corporation in the State of Ohio and had made an announcement last year sometime about dissolving the non-profit and going to a for-profit. I thought that was done at the time, but she continued to fund raise, etc. Then the day after this was filed she announced that “big changes” were coming with a post about turning the rescue into a boarding/training facility and being a for-profit corporation, and signing over the animals to the for-profit corporation.
The only thing that really bothers me about this is that people are being so fanatical about it all being a “rail road”, how she takes good care of the horses, etc. I wish people would actually READ the documents. No one has alleged abuse or neglect. [/QUOTE]
One consideration
And another.
You’re right, I am guilty of looking at this situation through the lens of ‘well there are worse ___ out there’, and co-mingling the care of the horses with the fiduciary duty.
I guess that’s because there are so many out there who play fast and loose with care [not providing near the care FPF appeared to] and the legal rules they are supposed to function under, and aren’t being called on the carpet… which again doesn’t excuse someone else doing it when they do get caught [if they do].
I feel like a stalker LOL but truth is, I run a small rescue myself, our family incorporated, keep our accounts separate, etc. Up until the last year or so, I really, really respected Frog Pond and actually based some policies and such on how she does things. She does a lot right. In the past year the confusion over for-profit, not-for-profit, increasing anger and defensiveness towards people, her mother being foreclosed on and moving the entire rescue without letting anyone even know what was going on, etc… I’ve just slowly been confused and not sure what was going on. Now this makes all the pieces fall into place.
At the end of the day, hopefully it turns out to be something stupid like “yeah, I accidently used the rescue’s card at x, y, z but paid it back right away” or maybe she can somehow see those charges as a “salary” (though then she’d have to pay income tax, I would think …) I don’t know. Someone else said once if she’d just paid herself a salary and filed the proper documents it probably wouldn’t be an issue.
Thanks to the “Similar Threads” link - here’s the one from last summer when she made the non-profit to for-profit change, and apparently when it all started.
http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?407467-Frog-Pond-Farm-is-no-longer-a-Rescue-how-sad
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