Shell Game Analogy: A shell game is a swindle, a fraud, especially one in which items or information are shifted around in a secret manner to avoid detection.
Most recently Oakland County Circuit court made a ruling on a facet of the eviction/appeal. In May Melissa Borden through her attorney TRIED to file a Lis Pendens on the Rose Township property. What does that mean? It means that The Devoted Barn tried to stake claim on the title for the property that they were evicted from. They were trying to make it impossible for the rightful owner to sell or transfer any interest of the property. On May 31st, the judge didn't even bother to hear more of this ridiculous argument and signed an order granting the release of the Lis Pendens (without a hearing, which should give everyone an idea of how meritless Melissa’s efforts were) which gave Huntington Ridge clear title to the property. This also should give people a window into what to expect in the future. Do you really think that a judge is going to give a clear title to Huntington Ridge so the property can be transferred or sold when there is a chance that The Devoted Barn could be awarded possession?? Follow the logic…this property is gone for good and out of the grasps of Melissa. A judge approved a clear title to Huntington Ridge. This means that they can do whatever they want with THEIR property. Melissa can believe and tell her faithful followers whatever she likes, but it is legally clear what the truth is.
Last week the new owners closed on Huntington Ridge Farm. They own the property now. It is never, and let us stress NEVER, going to be returned to Melissa Borden or Devoted Barn, today or on appeal. It is an impossibility and ludacris she is even trying to say this will happen. Think about this, what Melissa is saying is a judge is going to tell the new owners they have to give up a property they legally purchased. The Circuit Court paved the way for the property to be sold. The only one living in La La Land is Melissa and her cult who seem to think every court loss can be argued and judges are corrupt. Time they take those rose colored glasses off and start to look at the facts before them.
This means she lost the $300,000 donation that she used as a down payment when purchasing in 2019 on a land contract. She lost any payments she made. She lost any money used to purchase materials or build the property out to fit the needs of the rescue. She wasted over $100,000 in attorney fees fighting countless lawsuits against her from the township and others. There is still the question of the $100,000 bond of which the court returned $36,000 to Melissa. The remaining $64,000 is still sitting with the clerk of the court as collateral for the rest of the judgement that Huntington Ridge is still owed should TDB lose their appeal. It is still to be determined who will get those remaining funds, but are you okay that she may lose that money too??
When this blog talks about fiscal responsibility this is what we are talking about. The waste!! The constant asking for money that is supposed to be for the animals, only to be spent on unwinnable lawsuits and situations that she created by her flagrant disregard to the laws and ordinances. These are patterns of a woman who simply does not think the law applies to her. When caught she tries to spin the facts, but unfortunately facts don’t lie, she has a trail of lawsuits against her to prove this.
The animals and dogs were forced to be moved in Frenchtown Township. She never completed the process for the special use permit for the farm animals and that many dogs were never allowed on that property. Frenchtown secured a default judgment against her in July 2019 and forced the move of the remaining dogs and any other animals that she had no permit or proper zoning to have.
The dogs were moved to Rose Township in 2019 at different stages with no plan or permit, not even a proper building to house them. So, Rose Township sued and she lost in Circuit Court and the Court of Appeals. She ultimately was forced to again move the dogs. At a township meeting she said she had spent over $40,000 up to that point in legal fees for just this case. If you recall, she also told all of you she was sure to win her appeal, yet she did not.
Manure Mountain was the next problem created by Melissa. She had no manure management plan that she adhered to and just started stockpiling poop. Mount Everest of poop was in the cow pasture, poop around wetlands near a state body of water, poop was piled up around trees. Yet again it wasn’t her, it was others that caused the poop problem. She actually tried to blame the poop on people who had sold her the property 3 years prior. There was no manure mountain in 2019. Rose Township started a lawsuit to hold her liable for the manure situation and MDARD revoked her Right To Farm. So, we have a local agency again holding her accountable and a state agency saying the same. Melissa lost the privilege of any protections/benefits you get from the Right To Farm because she was not following the rules. Because she was evicted from the property, the township dropped the lawsuit.
Then we have Huntington Ridge having to sue multiple times to get paid. There is countless evidence in the court docs showing how Melissa turned that farm into a complete dump. She fixed nothing, did no maintenance and she lost all her paying boarders because the care she gave to people paying $700 a month to keep their horses was a complete joke. Instead of correcting the problems she just decided she would stop paying her land contract. That backfired in her face and guess what two courts again ruled against her and allowed the eviction. She is now fighting in the form of an appeal, but what for?? The property is gone, there is no returning it to her. Again just more money meant for animals being used for legal bills.
There is also a pending lawsuit where a former volunteer Julie DeFilippo is suing Melissa and DFAS for a $60,000 loan she gave them to buy the “Medical House” in Newport that she never got paid back for. The house was purchased under the assumption that they would make it a veterinary clinic, Again, no due diligence was done before money was spent on these grandeur plans and the property would have never been approved for that use due to ordinance restrictions. Regardless, it sounds like they sold the house and never paid back the debt to the person who gave them the money to buy the house. So, this poor woman must sue to try to get her money. Again, more legal fees that are being paid by donations and another waste of money where tens of thousands of dollars were spent to buy this med house that became nothing and just sat rotting.
Let us talk about these secretive locations where the animals are at that no one was supposed to know, but we have known for months. Melissa may tell you it is a secret for the protection of the animals, which is just her spin to keep secrets from the public and donors. We heard her say these words when they moved to Rose Township from Newport and again when she had to move the dogs to the kennel on Hill Rd in Grand Blanc. There is absolutely no risk of danger to the animals. The real reason that the animal locations are secret is….guess??? Melissa is breaking the law again and she wants to fly under the radar so no one can hold her accountable!
11180 Clark Rd Davisburg Michigan has been home to all 100+ livestock animals since the eviction in March. This number includes Lester, who is still in the stall that he entered on May 21st. He has not stepped foot out of it and we highly doubt anyone has braved entering it with him to clean it. It really sounds like he is living his best life, huh? This property is only 14.5 acres, and by the township ordinances, only 11 (ELEVEN!!) livestock animals are allowed on the property. So she is about 89+ animals over the limit!! The township knows all about this situation already so look for them to be forced to address this soon. Local taxpayers will possibly again have to bear the legal expense to force her to vacate. The animals are living in makeshift enclosures with shelters made out of tarps and pallets. Are you surprised that Melissa is again breaking the law, and has animals at a property and is not in compliance. Again…this is a pattern folks.
4441 Mack Rd Howell Michigan this is where she has 30+ horses (most of which are personal) and this is the property she is hoping to buy. This property is about 20 acres (2 separate parcels) and on it is an approx 3200 sf barndominuim. This means an even bigger house for Melissa to live, but guess what? Of the 20 acres of land, only about 8.5 acres are cleared for paddocks and the animals because the rest is wooded. So microscopic area for the horses, but Melissa gets the best for herself. The current dogs will not be allowed on this property because of local ordinances in place. This township has very strict rules in place when it comes to commercial kennel licenses. A large, properly constructed building with concrete floors, drainage and outdoor space would be required, and the maximum dog limit is 30 dogs. Period. Any number of dogs over 6 requires a commercial kennel license. Melissa alone has nine personal dogs. It is also highly unlikely she can move that quantity of livestock there. This would just be another panicked move, without any planing, to a place that she thinks is good for her personally, but ultimately is completely wrong for the animals.
Speaking of breaking the law…our honorable mention of this blog goes to Theresa Evans the “horse trainer” who is a convicted felon owing almost $70,000 in restitution to the business owner she stole from. Looks like Oakland County Courts finally caught up with her and filed a garnishment against her wages to try to force her to start paying her debt that she made no effort to pay. Remember Melissa on the live talking about what a good person Theresa is and how she is running a business and to leave her alone?? I bet the business owner she stole from has quite a different story about Theresa. Her lack of paying restitution should tell us all we need to know.
The facts are before you, the patterns are like a roadmap of driving to the same dead end location. How many more lawsuits will you support her through by donating money?? Melissa likes to talk about other rescues having a hard time financially, it is doubtful any rescue group has faced as many lawsuits as Melissa Borden and DFAS. This is not a rescue problem; this is the problem of one woman who couldn’t fiscally or legally manage a lemonade stand, much less a non-profit organization entrusted with hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax free donations. She constantly is asking for your hard earned dollars, and it is pretty obvious where your money is going, and it isn’t to the animals...even though she cannot stop bringing in more and more of them. Yep, two more donkeys were recently acquired, even after the video posted by Melissa claiming she would have to euthanize animals if they didn't get more money soon!! Make it make sense.