VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — The owner of a North Carolina service dog company accused of taking thousands from families and not providing trained animals is off the hook for now.
Last week, a federal judge dropped North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein’s complaint against Ry-Con, a company based in Raleigh, and its owner, Mark Mathis.
“I lost a lot of money that I’ll never see,” said Virginia Beach’s Rhonda DeCrescentis.
When DeCrescentis bought Blue for her son Michael, she wasn’t expecting what she got.
She paid Ry-Con $14,500 for the dog that was supposed to be trained to help comfort Michael, who has autism.
“There is a list of things he was supposed to be trained to, but does not do,” DeCrescentis added.
Instead they say Blue is aggressive, goes to the bathroom inside and chews up furniture. It is just creating more stress.
“It’s not what I paid for,” she said. “If I paid for a Cadillac I don’t want a Vega inside.”
DeCrescentis thought she could be getting relief when Stein filed suit against Mathis.
Mathis is accused of fraud, animal abuse, and mismanagement. The suit was filed on behalf of dozens of families from around the country.
“He needs to be held responsible for everything that he has done to the animals, to the kids, to the parents or anybody else that he ripped off,” DeCrescentis added.
Last week, the families suffered another blow. A North Carolina judge dismissed the lawsuit saying it was not detailed enough.
“When I heard from you that it was dropped, I didn’t get angry,” DeCrescentis said. “It was just like one more proof that they can get away with it.”
Stein says he plans to re-file the law suit. He has 30 days to do so.
