@Bogey2 - I completely agree that the plaintiff is well within her rights to fight this thing out, and that this case certainly looks like it will end up revealing quite a bit about the con games that at least 1 (likely 2 or 3) well known Wellington “professionals” of dubious reputation have been engaging in. Likely this lady wasn’t the only victim. Not even close.
Frankly, when wealthy folks get duped by con artists… in truth, when ANYONE gets duped by con artists… it’s embarrassing and upsetting. Victims frequently cut their losses and move forward quietly, if they can afford to do so. Or, they do pursue certain legal remedies, but settle privately because that is OFTEN the most practical thing to do for the victim, and the best way to actually recoup lost funds. The inherent problem with cutting ties and walking away, or private settlements, is that the con artists get to go along their merry way (if they can afford to pay the settlement) and maintain their public facade of being some sort of respected “professional.” Inevitably, when questioned on rumors about past business relationships that went south… the con artists do what con artists do, and spin yarns that cast themselves in the most sympathetic light possible. And sooner or later… they are on solid enough footing reputation wise to find a new naive client to fleece.
The plaintiff in this case though… Ruthann Green… is not representative of the usual victim when it comes to these sorts of situations in the horse world. :uhoh:
The whole story is actually almost so wild, that it seems like it’s straight up fiction. They (RRS almost certainly, and possibly Caroline as well as Ben) seem to have PRESUMED they had found a wealthy, naive and lonely older woman, who might be an easy mark to con in terms of getting her to front the OVERWHELMING majority of financial capital required in order to obtain an international quality Grand Prix jumper… all under false pretenses with respect to the horse’s purchase price, etc, and the capital others in the relationship were contributing to the effort…
But instead they chose a woman with a documented criminal history involving a serious appetite for revenge, and solicitation of murder.
:eek:
Anyway, that’s pretty much my whole interest in following the news on this case at this point. Because I am a true crime buff, and find these sorts of stories interesting, and this one has so much going on, it seems beyond the realm of possibility. I’m wondering how the whole situation ends. Certainly hopefully without anything terrifying like murder for hire this time. But otherwise? If these people really were trying to run cons on trusting clients and personally profit in amounts in the hundreds of thousands?!? That’s pretty horrible. They are lucky not to be going to jail.
Maybe the elder Roffman can afford to financially bail everyone out of this situation if the plaintiff takes this all the way to trial, and wins a substantial sum plus damages and attorneys fees. but from the looks of public financial filings at present… it seems far from a certainty that he is in a position to bail everyone out.
Rick Silvia almost certainly was NOT going to be the fortunate recipient of any sort of bailout by a wealthy relative. And I think it’s now pretty clear to anyone following this that he was never a Rockefeller. So call me crazy, but it’s a safe bet that the Rockefeller family won’t be donating funds to help him out of this mess either. I have no idea if he was an excellent rider or trainer or not… supposedly he earned his USDF Gold medal. But regardless of his record as a Dressage rider, it seems quite clear that Wellington is better off without him hanging around all winter, looking for new clients, and partying with socialites, getting involved in car wrecks in other people’s Maseratis… who knows what else.
Bottom line, there are plenty of really talented, hardworking, and FAR more ethical professionals in both the Dressage and Jumper communities who could, and would, do a far better job on behalf of wealthy clients with big dreams who wish to spend money on top quality horses. The fewer crooks there are in the industry, the better it is for the honest and talented folks out there, who work really hard but still struggle to make a decent living in a tough industry with very high overhead and very high risk.
