PORT ANGELES — The owner of a shuttered dog shelter in Forks that drew protests from across the nation in 2013 has admitted violating the state’s Charitable Solicitation Act and its Consumer Protection Act.
Stephen C. Markwell, who owned the Olympic Animal Sanctuary, faces fines totaling $96,000 for the 48 violations plus $20,677 in legal fees after soliciting at least $360,182 in contributions to his OAS charity from 2009 to 2011.
He also may be required to return the money he collected.
A civil complaint by the state attorney general alleges Markwell lived off the donations, although he said he lived in poverty and slept in the dogs’ warehouse shelter at 1021 Russell Road.
Judge George L. Wood granted an oral ruling in favor of the state, then took Markwell’s penalty under advisement following a hearing Friday in Clallam County Superior Court.
He declined to comment until he issues a decision.
Markwell’s attorney, Chris Jackman of Seattle, did not answer the Peninsula Daily News’ request for comment, and Markwell himself could not be contacted.
Protesters said Markwell abused the dogs at his shelter, keeping them in cramped cages in squalid conditions with limited access to food and water, and that some had died in his care.
After months of a Facebook campaign and protests at the shelter, Markwell left Forks on Dec. 21, 2013, and transported a reported 124 dogs in a semi-trailer truck to Arizona.
There, he turned them over on Christmas Eve to New York-based animal rescue organization Guardians of Rescue, which had set up a makeshift shelter in the desert.
The last 18 of those dogs were adopted July 27 by a California rescue agency.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Wednesday released this statement:
“Animal lovers who donated money to Markwell trusted that he was abiding by state law. He was not. The court’s decision ensures he will be personally liable for his misconduct.”
Specifically, the attorney general alleged that Markwell:
■ Solicited donations without registering with the state secretary of state until April 2013, despite starting the sanctuary as a nonprofit corporation in 2007 and seeking contributions at least since 2009.
■ Neglected to file annual solicitation reports.
■ Failed to make required disclosures in website solicitations.
■ Shirked making similar disclosures in email solicitations.
■ Failed to maintain records and books, including donations via PayPal and First Federal in Port Angeles.
Markwell at first received widespread positive publicity for accepting dogs from around the United States that otherwise would have been destroyed as vicious.
But he failed to register for four years with the secretary of state until 2013, after which he let the registration lapse, according to the attorney general’s complaint.
In August, he was sentenced to 20 days in the Forks jail and fined $1,500 for third-degree malicious mischief after he kicked the car of a Seattle woman who had been among the protestors who stood vigil around the metal kennel.
The Forks City Council subsequently passed an ordinance requiring a special license for anyone keeping more than 11 pets.
According to the attorney general’s motion for summary judgment and a motion for an injunction against Markwell’s continuing to seek contributions, Markwell repeatedly made mass solicitations via email without disclosing the sanctuary’s tardy registration with the state.
Assistant Attorney General Sarah A. Shifley also alleged Markwell neglected to maintain records of the contributions even as he continued living off them, which Markwell called “a gross distortion of reality.”
Markwell said in court documents that the records were lost during his hurried departure from Clallam County that he said was spurred by threats against his life by “a loosely organized group of self-proclaimed activists” who “took it upon themselves to destroy OAS.”
He said when he learned that his requests “were missing certain fine print required by the state,” he remedied the problem.
Markwell also told the court he used the funds to buy food for his dogs, which he said numbered up to 164 dogs, for volunteers and for himself.
“I slept in an actual dog kennel on a futon mattress that I shared with a group of feral dogs,” he said.
“I did this as part of a process of socializing these shy and fearful animals.
“I lived, by choice, in poverty during the entirety of OAS’s short history. . . . Most importantly, very nearly all the money I raised at OAS was used to care for the animals.”
He returned to live at the warehouse, which is owned by his mother, in 2014. It is not known if he still lives in Forks.
His attorney, Jackman, wrote to the court, “If anything, Mr. Markwell did a great service to the community by accepting canines who would either be homeless or euthanized without his charity. . . .
“He has been at a severe detriment since the inception of OAS given how hard he has been wounded financially, emotionally and personally from the egregious acts of self-described animal activists.”
But Shifley’s complaint said Markwell:
■ Did not register with the state as required by the Charitable Solicitations Act even while he sought money in person, by direct mail, via a Facebook page and on a website.
■ Did not disclose that donors could obtain financial information about the sanctuary from the state.
■ Received even more than the $360,182 he listed for 2009, 2010 and 2011 but for which he can’t account for from 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2013.
■ Spent the funds on groceries, restaurant visits, hotel stays, car expenses and cash withdrawals.
■ Furnished no report of expenses starting in 2012.
Shifley said the state sought a $2,000 fine for each of the 48 violations, plus restitution of contributions of money or property, and attorney’s costs
“Public information, transparency and accountability are among the primary purposes of the [Charitable Solicitation Act],” she wrote.
“Mr. Markwell is personally liable for violations . . . because he had sole control and authority over OAS. In many cases, Mr. Markwell was OAS.”
Markwell also was sued by Sherrie Maddox of Port Angeles, who filed a civil suit for breach of contract and misuse of a restricted donation filed. Maddox, one of the sanctuary’s largest donors, said he improperly used a $50,000 donation she made in July 2012.
The suit was dismissed without prejudice in August 2014.
For the text of the attorney general’s statement, see http://tinyurl.com/PDN-agdogsanctuary.
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Reporter James Casey can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jcasey@peninsuladailynews.com.
