Rogue horse trader found guilty of defrauding owners

Wednesday 25 January 2012

A rogue horse trader in Yorkshire has been handed a suspended prison sentence after being found guilty of fraud and unfair trading.
According to The Yorkshire Post, Brooke Lee, 24, of Otley, had duped owners into handing over ageing horses before she sold them on and she admitted two counts of fraud and one of unfair trading.
Lee was convicted after an inquiry was carried out by officers from York Council’s Animal Health Services who received complaints about her trading.

One horse was sold by Lee for £1,837.50 at a livestock market even though she knew that it was lame. The previous owners had sold it to Lee thinking it would be a companion for a filly.

Four other owners had revealed that Lee, who used a number of different names, had tricked them into letting her take horses saying they would be given permanent homes.
One horse was taken to Melton Mowbray, sold for £480 and slaughtered. Lee continued to lie to the previous owner, claiming the horse was still with her in a field.

York Council’s trading standards manager, Matt Boxall, told the newspaper: “Miss Lee tricked people into giving her their horses – horses which at their stage in life, needed to take things easy. The lies she told led the owners to believe they were doing the right thing for their animals, that they would be loved and cared for forever. Instead they were simply sold on to unsuspecting customers. All of the complainants have described their devastation upon finding out their horses had been treated this way.”
Lee was sentenced on Friday at York Crown Court, sitting at Harrogate Magistrates Court, and ordered to do 220 hours of unpaid work. She was also told to pay £750 in costs.

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