SERVICE DOG COMPANY OWNER INDICTED FOR PREYING UPON AND SCAMMING CLIENTS WITH SEIZURE DISORDERS

Posted on 5/1/2019

Defendant: Melody M. Towns

Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said, “This woman solicited business primarily from people whose children suffered from epilepsy, promising that she could provide them with a completely trained seizure response/mobility dog, took their money, and never delivered their dogs or delivered dogs that were untrained.”  Prosecutor Ron O’Brien announced that the Franklin County Grand Jury has returned an indictment against Melody M. Towns, age 36, for eleven counts of Theft From a Person in a Protected Class.  From October 2015 through August 2018, Towns operated M&R Working Dogs, LLC located at 4531 Harrisburg Pike in Grove City.  It is alleged that Towns solicited ten customers and advised them that they could purchase service dogs through the company.  The victims resided in Ohio and throughout the United States.  “Towns took payments from the victims upfront and the prices for each dog ranged from $7,500 to $12,000.  Approximately half of the victims never received a dog as promised, and the other half received dogs that were inadequately trained,” O’Brien stated.  O’Brien commended the Ohio Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Section, The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Forensic Accounting Unit of BCI for their investigation and work on this case.  “If you believe you are a victim of this woman, please contact your local law enforcement agency and report the crime,” O’Brien stated.  Arraignment for Towns is set for Wednesday, May 15^th, at 1:30 pm in courtroom 2A at 345 S. High Street in downtown Columbus.