The 40-year-old asked the dog owner whether he could take one of the Rhodesian ridgeback puppies for half-price as the charity had no further funding. Photo / Olga Khazai, Getty Images, File
An Invercargill man posed as a dog trainer for a charity associated with Blair Vining to get a discount when buying a puppy, a court has heard.
The 40-year-old defendant appeared in the Invercargill District Court this week after pleading guilty to forging a document and making a false statement.
Judge Duncan Harvey ordered the man to pay $500 to the charity and deferred his sentence for 12 months.
The defendant was also granted permanent name suppression as he had a young child.
The court heard the mother had threatened to stop contact between the defendant and his child if his name was published.
Yesterday afternoon Southland Charity Hospital’s board made a formal request to appeal the name suppression.
Hospital founder Melissa Vining called the offending “completely despicable”.
She said the man had targeted a vulnerable person, and she did not feel that was taken into consideration by the judge.
Southland Charity Hospital was established following her husband Blair’s battle with terminal bowel cancer.
The organisation works to make cancer care equally accessible.
Melissa Vining said it was “appalling” the defendant’s identity was suppressed, as it would make it harder for other organisations to recognise him as a potential threat.
“He’s basically betrayed the trust of all the people in Southland and Otago who have generously donated their time and resources to create a vital service for the community,” she said.
“I don’t think anyone understands the magnitude of hours ... of volunteer time that has been put into this project.
“This crime is against the community.
“He’s used my dead husband’s name to try and defraud a vulnerable person into supporting a much loved and much-needed charity — you don’t get any lower than that.”
On May 3 last year, the defendant found a Trade Me seller who had advertised Rhodesian ridgeback puppies for $2000, later reducing the price to $1600.
The next day he contacted them, saying he was a specialised dog trainer from South Africa and worked with a head-injury charity.
The defendant said he was looking for a new dog to train to assist with patient recovery.
He asked if the seller would give a puppy to the charity as they had no further funding.
After the seller said it was not feasible for him to give one of his dogs, the defendant asked for a 50 per cent discount.
The dog owner initially agreed to the lower price, saying he may get cancer one day.
When asked who he was working for, the man named the Southland Charity Hospital.
To further support his false claims, the defendant forged a letter from the charity stating he was a specialist dog trainer volunteering to assist with projects and thanked the seller for discounting the puppy.The seller contacted Southland Charitable Hospital, which confirmed the man was lying.
The dog owner did not go through with the sale.
On May 8, Melissa Vining told the media about the incident.
The next day the defendant notified police his cellphone had been stolen or lost and his SIM card had been cloned.
On May 10, he told police that emails and messages on his phone were being sent by someone else.
When a summons was served on him he said “so I reported it and now I’m being charged”.
Melissa Vining acknowledged the immediate action, hard work and hours the police put into bringing the offender before the court.
She said her disappointment lies with the outcome.
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