Bedford's Scott Gray accused of fraud involving puppies and sick woman

A Bedford man facing multiple charges of fraud involving people and Nova Scotia businessescan add another one to the list, this time related toaccusations he wrotea bad cheque forpuppies ownedby an Annapolis Valley woman sick with cancer.

Karin Robertson, 53, runsNaturally Nerida Farm & KennelinGaspereau where she breeds dogs, andkeeps sheep, chickens and donkeys. In September 2015, she ran an advertisement on Kijiji to sell Great Pyrenees puppies.

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She said when Scott Gray answered the adand asked to come and see the dogs, she told himyes, even though she was scheduled to have surgery the following day for ovarian cancer.

"I asked him my regular kind of questions to make sure the puppy would have a good home and that he was familiar with the breed and that he was experienced with dogs and that he would provide a really good home for the puppy," Robertson told CBC'sMaritime Noon on Thursday.

"He talked like he did."

'He came out with his wife and some children'

She said he insisted that he come over to her farm the evening before her surgery.

"I would have preferred to have waited but he insisted. He came out with his wife and some children. It was dark," she said.

"He wanted one puppy and then he decided he'd like to have two. He was adamant he would look after them and they would be playmates for each other, so I did agree."

Robertson said she acceptedhis cheque for $1,500 for the animals. She doesn'tusually takecheques, but she said Gray was adamant it was good, that he was a "good guy."

She was in hospital a few days later when she received a call from her daughter, who had flown in from Toronto to look after the farm. The daughter told her Gray had called and wanted to return one puppy because two were too much to handle.

Promises and excuses

"I agreed to that because I wanted to make sure the puppies were going to great homes," Robertson said.

Her daughter paid Gray back $700 in cash.Neithershe nor Robertson knew Gray's cheque wouldn'tclear.

"Bythe time I got back from the hospital and realized that had happened it was too late," Robertson said.

What followed was a string of promises and excuses from Gray, failed meetingsand finally Robertson said she knew she wouldn't be paid.

Gray has been charged with fraud under $5,000 in connection with the sale of the puppies and is scheduled to appear in court March 14, Nova ScotiaRCMPconfirm.

He has previously declined an interview request from CBC, but has denied all allegations of fraud against him.

Gray, 41, has a prior conviction forfraud and is charged with fraud in casesinvolving motor vehicles, car parts and building supplies, with the total amounttopping six figures.

He has numerous court dates in Halifax, Dartmouth and Windsor.

In the meantime, Robertson said she is worried about the fate of the second puppy that Gray kept.She's also strapped for cash to keep her farm going.

Friends have started aGoFundMecampaign,which is helping some, she said.

"You lose faith in humanity, that someone knowing I was sick, had cancer, would follow through with this kind of activity against me," she said.

"On the bright side, there are folks that have helped me and that is fantastic."

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