Advertisement El Dorado Co. puppy broker sentenced for animal cruelty Puppies found in poor living conditions in El Dorado Hills woman's home Share Shares Copy Link Copy

An El Dorado Hill woman who sold puppies from South Korea was sentenced for felony animal cruelty and several other counts related to selling puppies, according to court officials. Ginger Turk, 46, was sentenced Friday to one year in El Dorado County Jail and is prohibited from selling, possessing, transporting or importing dogs for at least 10 years. She is also required to pay restitution for the investigation and other penalty assessments. Turk will be on felony probation for five years with searchable provision and is required to notify any animal services agency where she lives and any name change. FAST FACTS: --Turk was a known puppy broker and imported tiny, high-priced puppies from South Korea for sale in the U.S.--Multiple buyers complained about sick puppies they bought from Turk.--Turk forged vet signatures to pass the puppies off as healthy to buyers.--Puppies were found in poor living conditions in Turk's El Dorado Hills home. "This case represents a stunning example of greed, where the most vulnerable of creatures were sacrificed so that Ms. Turk could enrich herself," El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson said. "Hopefully this prosecution will not only save lives by preventing Ms. Turk from exploiting other dogs in the future, but will also serve as a warning to those who might engage in similar criminal conduct that animal cruelty will not be tolerated." Turk was known as a puppy broker and imported tiny, underaged, unweaned, high-priced (at least $4,000) puppies from South Korea and sold them over the internet and in person, according to El Dorado County officials. She lived in multiple locations over the years, including Sacramento and El Dorado counties, and operated under multiple business names, such as Teacup Puppy Couture, La Chic Puppy Boutique and Beverly Hills Teacups. She also used multiple names such as Ginger Maree (Hunter), Jen Turk and Jenna Brennan. "We are glad to see Turk's operation shut down so that no more animals suffer," said Henry Brzezinski, chief of El Dorado County Animal Services. "We also hope this case helps bring awareness to the puppy-buying community. We encourage people to look to adopt from a local government or nonprofit animal shelter." In 2012, multiple people complained that they bought sick puppies from Turk, who was subsequently convicted in a Sacramento Superior Court of felony forgery charges after a woman bought a sick puppy online from her. The puppy died of parvovirus within a few days. When the buyer contacted the vet who appeared to have signed the puppy's health documents, she was told that the papers were forged. Investigators determined that Turk had forged the signature of a Folsom veterinarian. A felony probation search of Turk's El Dorado Hills home in 2014 found that she was illegally operating without a license. One puppy in Turk's care was only a few weeks old and barely alive. Its mouth was sealed shut, and it was dehydrated and underweight. Other underage puppies were found in poor living conditions. Federal regulations require dogs imported from other countries to be healthy and at least 6 months old. California law prohibits the sale of any dog under 8 weeks old.