El Dorado County animal group sues banks over foreclosure
The Grace Foundation, an El Dorado Hills animal rescue organization, said it has filed a lawsuit against Wells Fargo Bank and Bank of America for $20 million over the group’s foreclosure.
The group says it is near bankruptcy as the costs of caring for 48 abused horses it received has reached $800,000 and continues to cost $50,000 a month.
“This is a nightmare we cannot wake up from,” said Beth DeCaprio, executive director and founder of The Grace Foundation, in a statement. “The banks turned over ownership of the horses when they had no legal right to do so, the fact that they did this to simply to rid themselves of the liability is a crushing blow. The banks played the game ‘hot potato’ with our organization and with the lives of these horses; we have the horses and all the financial responsibility. There is no one that will take over the responsibility of these horses. We have no money to continue to care for them without help and yet if we stopped we would go to jail.”
The foundation said the banks have offered a settlement that is less than half of what the foundation has already spent.
— Lake Tahoe News staff report
I’m shocked — *shocked* — to learn that these banks are scumbags. Oh…wait…not really shocked. Not even a little.
Bank of America sent this to LTN:
I can tell you that the allegations that Bank of America fraudulently handed over the horses to the Grace Foundation are untrue. At no time has Bank of America owned the property or the horses. The horses were taken by a receiver appointed by the court and then abandoned to the County of Lassen. The county then turned the horses over to the Grace Foundation.
As background, in 2011 Bank of America was made aware of animal abuse and neglect at a property at which Dwight Bennett was living and was responsible for the animals. When authorities were called in, many horses had died and dozens were sick and starving. Despite the fact that the bank did not own the property or the horses, we petitioned the court, prior to foreclosure, to remove the horses from the ranch in Susanville because of the abuse they were suffering at the hands of this man. Again, at no time did Bank of America have any ownership interest in the horses or the property. When Grace asked for a $20k donation to help care for the animals, we donated the exact amount requested immediately. We worked closely with authorities to ensure the man responsible for these atrocities was charged and will be prosecuted.
When we learned about its current financial situation at the end of May, we immediately reached out to understand its needs, lend support and offer assistance. We have visited the foundation and reviewed information related to these horses in order to understand the best way to help the foundation continue to care for the horses. Even though we have no ongoing obligations with this organization, we offered a donation of $200,000 to the foundation to support the care of the horses, but the offer was declined. We truly want to help this foundation and the horses, and are hopeful it will reconsider our offer.
Kelly Sapp, Bank of America