Lisa and Joseph Schoneman
ATTEMPTED HORSE THEFT AND SEVERE NEGLECT
Loxahatchee, Florida, 33470
I trusted Lisa and Joseph Schoneman to care for my horses, Fathom and Sedona after I moved to Arizona in late December, the 27th to be exact. The property the horses were on prior was under quarantine for Strangles until late January and after that the horses were held up due to my mother's health so they moved to the Schoneman's property (Amaryllis Acres) January 29th. They were originally supposed to move December 26th and frankly I'm glad they didn't given the fact that they're in such bad shape now.
When I toured the property in mid-December I met this couple and their daughter and they seemed extremely nice and seemed to know what they were doing. The barn, however, was empty of boarders and I had been told they'd "run everyone off" for stealing, from them during their winter hunting trip in early December and after being informed that people "wander onto their property" and they had issues with "someone trying to steal a horse" I inquired about security for my horses as they are quite valuable and was told that Mr. Schoneman is a Deputy with PBSO and was shown a couple firearms that were his and assured my horses would be safe.
Everything seemed fine so I paid them $450. $200 a stall, even though their Craigslist ad stated $150 a stall, plus $50 to pick my horses up from Jupiter, Florida. Lisa stated the extra $100 ?($50x2) was so she could pay her barn manager to feed them in the morning... Even though she'd "run" the barn manager off. Feeling bad that she didn't have any other form of income other than the barn, I let it slide.
Lisa and Joe NEVER handed me a copy of their contract, but picked both of my horses up on January 29th and the trouble started immediately.
They banned my mother from the property after she complained about both horses sustaining injuries to their faces on February 2nd Due to Lisa's failure to remove their halters after hauling them onto the property, injuries that are still present on Sedona's face as of March 17th. This banning resulted in me having to pay $340 to Lisa to care for my horses at night as she refused to allow my mother to do so.
The February break down was follows;
FEBRUARY:
Hay: $438
Board: $200x2 = $400
Care: $340 (feeding, stalls, waters etc)
= $1178
My mother purchased my feed from RedBarn
8 Bags Crossroads @ $11.12 = 88.96
So my February total was $1267 give or take a couple cents
in March she demanded $1650, including two bank transfer fees as I refused to pay her cash as she refused to A.) hand me a copy of her "contract" and B.) refused to send me an invoice/receipt for what had already been paid. Luckily I keep records of absolutely everything. I had my business partner send her the money via wire transfer. The result ended with her claiming she wasn't paid until we got WestPac, Commonwealth, and Wells Fargo involved tracing the money AND called PBSO to go out and check on the horses after she was threatening to "confiscate" them and went completely silent, failing to return all attempts at communication (emails, texts, and calls) when we provided undeniable proof that we knew she received the money. At one point in time her husband, who is a PBSO Deputy, threatened to shoot anyone who stepped on the property to look at the animals or assess them. She also denied me the right to choose my own farrier and demanded that I send her $100 extra for farrier care, something I refused due to the fact she denied me invoices and refused to send me photographs of my horses even as proof that they were even still alive.
It took PBSO reviewing receipts and coming out to force them to release my horses. It gets worse. The mares may have left this little farm of horrors on March 17, 2013, but after a friend drove from Inverness, FL to Brookledge's facility in Ocala, FL yesterday to check on the horses for me after the Brookledge driver reported to me that the sorrel/white mare (Sedona) was lame and the filly looked rather unkempt. Dirty is one thing, seeing as they're paints and in Florida, but the photos and videos I received showed a very very scary picture that literally made me vomit. The filly is easily 200 lbs under weight. The mare is 125 - 150lbs underweight. The mare is a VERY easy keeper, but the filly is still growing as she doesn't turn 4 until April and comes from a line that takes quite awhile to fully mature.
I have photos of the mares from the weeks before they arrived on the Schoneman property and photos taken just yesterday that show that while in Lisa and Joe Schoneman's care they've completely come undone in ways that should NEVER have happened.
There is currently THREE cases open against them by me and a lawsuit pending. PBSO AND FDLE for Joe Schoneman's threats of violence which are completely unbecoming of an officer and one with Animal Care and Control against the pair.
The pictures below are before and after photos of my horses. These people need to be stopped as this isn't the first time they've done this! I was directed to this website after a search for them turned up THIS previous report:
http://www.whoscammedyou.com/scams/5103/profile.public.cfm?userID=2882