Puppy farm fraudsters must pay £31,000 after selling dogs that later died
Two fraudsters who ran a Telford puppy farm which sold dogs that later died or needed veterinary treatment have been ordered to pay over £31,000.
Betty Chanelle Burton, 35, and Jeff James McDonagh, 38, were handed suspended prison sentences in July last year after farming dogs that were found to have stomach problems, parasites, skin conditions, and dirty coats.
A police and RSPCA raid on McDonagh Lodge, in Arleston Brook, Telford, in November 2018, found 55 dogs on the premises.
At a proceeds of crime meeting at Shrewsbury Crown Court on Thursday, McDonagh was ordered to pay a general lifestyle benefit sum of £31, 231 within 28 days or he would go to prison for nine months.
Burton was ordered to pay £1 within 28 days or she would go to prison for seven days.
Judge Peter Barrie, presiding took into account how much both were able to pay and Stuart Cooper, defending said the victims of the crime would receive at least £22,090 of the proceeds of the fines.
The pair, along with co-conspirator Luke Gillman, all of Arleston Brook, were found guilty of conspiracy to commit fraud in February last year.
Earlier in the trial, the court had hear that the trio sold 42 dogs in the Telford area, with 15 of them dying and the rest needing care from a vet.
A welfare expert said there would have been "no way" they would be granted a breeding licence.
During the trial, the jury was told that the dogs were linked to a Manchester-based puppy farming operation which sold 1,439 puppies for more than £250,000 over three years.
