Equine Scams! Beware! Part Two

Last week I wrote a blog about my recent victimization by “Maryann Pattyn” of “The Equine Mall”. I promised you that this week I’d write about online equine sale scams. But so much information has surfaced about “Maryann” that I need to devote at least one more blog to her activities. Who knows what “Maryann’s” real name is, although she apparently scammed other people using the same first name. She scammed the owner of a buckskin colt using the name Maryann Montour. As of last week, the Equine Mall website was still up… but it is not anymore. Some pages are still cached in my browser and accessible to me.

At least two years of scamming people

I’m not sure what I expected to find as I delved deeper into this mess. However, I am more and more blown away by the number of people she victimized, and the different ways she did it.

Apparently, she has been at this for at least 2 years, as one victim (who didn’t know the real score) advertised with her in late 2018 or early 2019. He had reached the point in his business where he was able to track revenue from advertising dollars. I am learning how to do that, but not there yet. He was able to document zero return on his advertising money… Perhaps that had something to do with the fact that the website was bogus and no money was being spent to promote anything? He just chalked it up to a bad advertising choice, not realizing it was a scam. However, Maryann used his previous advertising materials on her “new” website and labeled him as a sponsor.

Fake Raffles

I spent several hours communicating with various people and businesses caught in Maryann’s web of lies. Some knew what had happened, many didn’t. Maryann pulled photos, logos, and Facebook profiles of various businesses from the web, and created fake “sponsorships” or “raffles”. She convinced two different farms to raffle horses. The raffle money raised would provide appropriate reimbursement for the horses. The ladies incurred expenses in raising and maintaining these horses as the raffle went live. Sadly, when the time came for Maryann to reimburse them with money raised in her raffle, she was nowhere to be found. She collected the money with no intention of paying for the horses or drawing a winner.

I also learned that Maryann had approached a horse trailer dealership about raffling a trailer. The lower-ranking salesman passed her request on to one of the business’ owners. He told her no. Undeterred, she set up the raffle anyway. She never intended to give away a trailer so to her, it really didn’t matter if they were “on board” or not. Until I reached out to him, he was totally unaware of what had transpired.

How many Facebook profiles does a person need?

The two victimized farms connected with each other in their attempt to figure out what had happened. Kari and Gretta are the farm owners. Kari has provided me with a great deal of information. I have added that to what I have learned from my own research. Kari has sent me many screenshots. I took additional screenshots from my cached view of the now-defunct website. (I’m sure Maryann hasn’t paid her web host!)

Interestingly enough, several of Maryann’s many Facebook profiles are still active. They are all under variations of Maryann Montour, Maryann Pattyn, and Dedy Pattyn. Check her out here, and here, and here, and here, and here! None of them appear to be active, and as folks have wised up, much content has disappeared.

PLEASE NOTE: There IS a LEGITIMATE Maryann Montour out there with a legitimate business. She has a website and an Etsy page. The photo below is NOT her. She, too, is a victim in that her name is now associated with the crook Maryann.

Have you ever seen this lady? I am not saying that this is Maryann… but this profile photo is on one of her many Facebook pages. If this is not Maryann, has yet someone else been victimized? Several profiles list her as being from Ontario, Canada. Additionally, she lists residency in Florida and Arizona. One victim in Florida sent this photo to a half dozen of his friends who live close to where she claims to live, inquiring if they had ever dealt with her? I have reached out to one of her victims that lives in Arizona.

Does this affect YOU?

Lest you be reading this and think you will never have to deal with her, think again… who knows what names she will use in the future? For instance, I found a post she made about how she was looking to buy a horse. Would you want to sell her a horse? Would you buy a raffle ticket if you knew there was no chance of winning anything? Take a look at the photo below of all her Facebook personas… and I have NO idea what that “I spun I won” stuff is? This is what comes up if you search “Maryann Montour” on Facebook. There will be more to come about this woman. I will be pursuing prosecution. I am just now starting to realize how long she has been doing this and how many people have been impacted.

Keep your eyes and ears open. Don’t be a victim. This woman robbed people just like you. Before I wrap this up, I will try and provide information on how we can ALL avoid being victims. In the meantime, spread the word about Maryann! I’d like to hear from folks who paid for raffle tickets! Do you know anyone who advertised on the site? Additionally, many reputable businesses had their logos pirated, such as US Rider. Do you know anyone connected to Butler Professional Farrier School, Valor Equine Therapy Services, BioEquine, or BarnHand Mitts? These businesses, among others, were listed as sponsors or advertisers on Maryann’s site. Spread the word!!