Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Steve Markwell: Now Officially a Swindler

Hello, everyone...Below you'll find a sizzling hot press release regarding Steve Markwell. Here's hoping the court fines him to the fullest extent.
 

He's crazy, he's creepy, he's a criminal.

 Court rules Olympic Animal Sanctuary, founder violated the law
 
Failed to account for donor contributions; committed 48 violations of the Charitable Solicitations Act
 
PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Superior Court held that a charity that raised $360,000 for a dog shelter, but failed to register with the Secretary of State or produce required records of how the donations were spent, violated the Charitable Solicitations Act.

On Friday, April 3rd, in an oral ruling granting summary judgment to the state, Judge George Wood held that Olympic Animal Sanctuary and its founder and executive director, Stephen Markwell, committed 48 violations of the Charitable Solicitations Act.  Judge Wood also held that Markwell can be held personally liable for all of the violations and that Markwell and the charity should be permanently enjoined from engaging in unfair or deceptive practices.

The court took the state’s request for monetary sanctions under advisement and will rule at a later date.  The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) asked for a maximum civil penalty of $96,000 ($2,000 per violation), and just over $20,000 in costs and fees. No written ruling has been issued yet because the monetary sanctions are undecided.

“Animal lovers who donated money to Markwell trusted that he was abiding by state law. He was not,” said Attorney General Bob Ferguson. “The court’s decision ensures he will be personally liable for his misconduct.”

The AGO had accused Markwell of unlawfully soliciting and collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in charitable donations while not being registered as a charity with the Secretary of State. Markwell also did not file required annual solicitation reports with the Secretary of State. In addition, Markwell failed to maintain records of how the charitable donations were spent. 

The AGO claimed these actions violated the Washington’s Charitable Solicitations Act, an automatic violation of the Consumer Protection Act.

Markwell registered Olympic Animal Sanctuary as a federal, tax-exempt non-profit organization in 2007.  However, his operation was not registered in Washington as required by law until April 2013 when he was contacted by the Secretary of State.

From 2009 to 2011 Markwell reported that he raised $360,000 from public donations.  Markwell also solicited donations in 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2013, but he didn’t keep records, so the AGO doesn’t know how much additional money was brought in.

Markwell no longer operates the Olympic Animal Sanctuary and surrendered the dogs to a shelter in Arizona.

The Attorney General’s action does not address allegations of animal abuse or neglect as those issues do not fall within the Consumer Protection Act or Charitable Solicitation Act.

Concerns regarding animal welfare should be directed to city or county law enforcement and local animal care and control agencies. Consumers with concerns specifically about Olympic Animal Sanctuary and Stephen Markwell can contact Clallam County Animal Control at 360-417-2459, or the Forks Police Department at 360-374-2223.

 
Likes to hoard dogs; was raised by wolves.

 
 

 
 

18 comments:

  1. I didn't see this on the PDN's website yet, so thanks for passing this along, CK. This is hardly a surprising outcome, and I also hope he has substantial fines levied. Of course, I doubt he has any of that money left, but...Anyone know the status of the lawsuit one of his donors filed against him? She gave him something like tens of thousands of dollars to build a new shelter, and he simply took the money and ran. I forget her name, but if anyone has info, please share.

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    1. She dropped her suit last fall cause of the cost and the AG's suit. The suit was for $50K.

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    2. Too bad she dropped her suit. This decision would have helped her case, and maybe - just maybe - she could have gotten some of her money back.

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  2. Having been around Markwell once or twice, it amazes me that anyone gave him any money in the first place. To say he's rude and has a lousy personality is a huge understatement. Still, people love animals, and he obviously exploited that.

    I'm all for him getting fined, but it would be great if the people he ripped off could get some of their money back - IF he's fined, and IF they can get anything out of him.

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  3. But crowd funding online is OK.

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  4. Markwell's whole scam was enabled by a sham board of directors of his "charity." Those people should be on the hook, too.

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    1. Yes, if you've ever met Steve Markwell, you'd immediately know this is someone who couldn't have done this all on his own. The real money-laundering scheme started when Markwell met Matthew Randazzo. Suddenly, Markwell is being put into a leadership role with the local Democratic Party, is suddenly wearing the ill-fitting suit that Randazzo got for him, and is going out to eat almost every night with the Randazzos. One guess where the money to pay for all those meals came from.

      Remember, these are the same Randazzos, both Matthew and Melissa, who had already tried to scam the Peninsula Friends of Animals, and had scammed and stolen from the Raptor Center in Sequim, where Jaye Moore was naïve enough to let them in.

      None of this is to say that Markwell is an innocent, or that he didn't benefit from misappropriating all that money. But, really, I personally don't think things would have turned out this way if he hadn't gotten looped into the poisonous orbit of the Randazzos. From a legal and moral standpoint, it would make the most sense to hold them, and the other enabling board members, responsible as well.

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    2. Trouble is, and the weirdness is, in a small town/county like this, pretty much everyone is connected to everyone. From Markwell to Randazzo to Tharinger to Judge George Wood and on and on. In such an incestuous situation, it's often difficult to know who's good, who's bad, and who's likely to be either one, depending on their opportunistic nature.

      But then again, it seems just as easy for the bad actors to knife each other as it is for them to cooperate. Opportunity knocks...And someone has to take the fall, for appearances sake, if nothing else.

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    3. Here's how I see it...Randazzo helped engineer this whole con (among others) and Markwell was both the instrument of the con, and the patsy. When everything started to unravel, Randazzo was shuttled off to Olympia, and Markwell got to take the heat.

      At this point, I'm willing to bet Randazzo (and who knows who else) still has some doggie dollars in his bank account, but it seems unlikely that fall guy Steve Markwell has anything left except bitter memories.

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    4. Steve Markwell and Matthew Randazzo should both be fed to the dogs.

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  5. Randazzo Randazzo Randazzo

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    1. Tharinger Tharinger Tharinger

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    2. It certainly seems like more than a few of us realize that Steve Tharinger is more of a liability to Clallam County than an asset. Personally, I think that, at best, he's even more disingenuous than the average politician. Maybe that's why he always seems to have trouble carrying his home county in elections, even when other Democrats win a majority of the vote here. It's the overwhelming Democratic vote from Jefferson County that carries him to victory as a state rep, which means that it's kind of their fault we're stuck with him.

      Which, to my mind, means there's plenty of room for a Democratic challenger to him. But we all know how reluctant people are to run for office here, so I won't be holding my breath.

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  6. Good Lord. Do you mean to tell me that, after all that, this loser is still living out in Forks? I thought he fled the area.

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  7. The problem is twofold.

    One: This county seems to attract a disproportionate number of frauds and crooks.

    Two: Too many of them find fellow travelers and enablers here.

    And here we are.

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  8. For more on scumbag Matthew Randazzo, look into his bogus "corporation" registered earlier this year in Olympia: The Isaac Olivia Company LLC. More scams surely to follow.

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  9. Did Steve Markwell do any jail time for the abuse of these pets? What was his punishment?

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    1. His punishment was not enough - and not any time behind bars. Meanwhile, from what I've heard, he is once again hoarding dogs. There are obviously some deeper issues with the violent and violently antisocial Steve Markwell.

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