The operator of a local charity has agreed to refund money to families around the country that paid thousands of dollars to obtain service animals for their children with autism.
Attorney General Lisa Madigan accuses Lea Kaydus of Glenarm of operating a, quote, “heartless scam” through her agency, Animals for Autism.
Madigan says Kaydus promised to train the dogs to help autistic children and then deliver the animals to those families, but that no animals were ever trained or delivered.
She says Kaydus provided pictures of dogs, but that the pictures were several years old and did not depict animals that were actually being trained as service animals.
Kaydus has agreed to reimburse more than five-thousand dollars and to comply with charity and consumer fraud laws in the future.
