Woman Accused Of Selling Sick Pups Faces Tax Charges

A Blountville, Tenn., woman accused of fraud for selling sick puppies from Eastern Europe as ones she had raised has now been charged with cheating on her taxes.

A federal grand jury in Greeneville, Tenn., on Wednesday issued a 10-count indictment, which including filing a false income tax return, against Gina De’Lynn Hodges Price, the owner of Rebel Ridge Kennels.

According to the indictment that replaced a previous one with fewer charges, Price purchased English and French bulldog puppies from breeders in Lithuania, Lativa Belarus and Russia.

She then sold the animals through Rebel Ridge’s Web site, claiming she raised them herself. Price charged between $1,200 and $2,800 for each dog and would offer a fraudulent American Kennel Club pedigree paperwork for $200, according to court documents.

Price would also guarantee the animals were in good health.

Many of the animals suffered from severe genetic diseases that caused afflictions like heart murmurs or hip dysplasia. Many had to be euthanized as soon their new owners received them.

A federal grand jury indicted Price on one count of mail fraud and one count of wire fraud in October for the scheme, which she ran from September 2002 to May 2006.

Price was also charged with three counts of Social Security fraud in October for misstating her income or ability to work when collecting Social Security disability benefits.

On Tuesday, the federal grand jury added two income tax fraud charges to Price’s indictment because she claimed her taxable income was negative-$32 in 2005 and negative-$4,400 in 2006.

The grand jury also added two charges of witness tampering to the indictment. Price was originally charged with one count of witness tampering.

| (276) 645-2518