NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) -- The owner of a Virginia-based company ‘Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers’ is under fire.
He's accused of selling poorly-trained puppies under the guise of 'diabetic alert dogs,' for tens of thousands of dollars.
Now, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring filed a lawsuit against Charles Warren Jr., of Madison County, and the service dog organization.
This lawsuit dives into the service dog organization's history. 13News Now learned the group often delivered poorly-trained puppies with inadequate skills or training to notify a customer of a potentially life-threatening high or low blood sugar situation.
Attorney General Herring said the investigation into the organization started with a consumer complaint.
Since then, they found 50 people reported buying service dogs that were not trained. Each dog cost about $18,000 to $27,000.
“It's just a tragic situation that we want to make sure that we put a stop to and that people who were taken advantage of get restitution and get their money back,” said Herring. "If they don't have that capability it ends up jeopardizing the health of that person maybe even their life."
The lawsuit also shows the Attorney General's investigation found the Warren claimed he trained dogs while serving in the Marine Corps, but he did not serve in any United States military branch.
Hampton Roads resident, Don Shipley is a former Navy Seal.
"This guy's a classic example of lying about his military service to get benefits from something," said Shipley. "It does a terrible disservice to us. You know that speaks volumes about who you are, and when it's a lie that's a big problem."
The report shows Attorney General Herring's investigation found Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers also falsely claimed they have a partnership with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
The JDRF Chief Mission Officer Aaron Kowalski emailed this statement: "JDRF has never endorsed the use of diabetes service dogs. To date, there has not been a sufficient amount of scientific studies performed to test their efficacy and safety.”
13News Now reached out to Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers. Late Tuesday evening, the attorney representing Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers sent us a statement that said: "We have not yet seen the Attorney General’s lawsuit, but we deny any allegation of wrongdoing, and we absolutely deny that we have ever set out to mislead, cheat or defraud our many happy clients.”
Herring said he had to ask the court to enforce a civil investigative demand compelling the company to produce information about its business.
The company failed to fully comply with the civil investigative demand for nearly two years, resulting in approximately $90,000 in sanctions against Service Dogs and Warren.
Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers, INC.'s attorney sent the following statement to 13News Now:
We have not yet seen the Attorney General’s lawsuit, but we deny any allegation of wrongdoing and we absolutely deny that we have ever set out to mislead, cheat or defraud our many happy clients. Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers has a long history of serving people with invisible disabilities, including many people with Type I Diabetes. This long history of service includes being a recipient of Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe’s “Spotlight" Award in 2017.
We have been working with the Virginia Attorney General’s Office to address any areas of concern they may have. In many areas, we had already changed our procedures long before their investigation began. The Attorney General’s Office, however, made it clear that they only wanted the complete destruction of SDWR and Dan Warren. Over the last 8 months, Mr. Warren has suffered a series of debilitating brain injuries. His doctors indicated that the severe stress he was under certainly contributed to these brain injuries. This stress included the Attorney General’s investigation. Dan is working hard at rehab. The Attorney General’s Office has been aware of his condition for many months. I am personally very disappointed that an agency as important and powerful as the Attorney General’s Office would allow itself to wage such a personal campaign against a company that has done so much good and to take such an action while knowing the delicate medical condition of Mr. Warren and the possible effects this action could have.
Herring said any victim of the service dog organization should report it to the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Section. For more information, click here.
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