A Bedford man facing multiple charges of fraud involving people and Nova Scotia businesses can add another one to the list, this time related to accusations he wrote a bad cheque for puppies owned by an Annapolis Valley woman sick with cancer.

Karin Robertson, 53, runs Naturally Nerida Farm & Kennel in Gaspereau where she breeds dogs, and keeps sheep, chickens and donkeys. In September 2015, she ran an advertisement on Kijiji to sell Great Pyrenees puppies.

She said when Scott Gray answered the ad and asked to come and see the dogs, she told him yes, 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's Maritime 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."

Scott Gray of Bedford is charged with defrauding Karin Robertson of two puppies. (Submitted by Karen Sproule)

Robertson said she accepted his cheque for $1,500 for the animals. She doesn't usually take cheques, 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. Neither she nor Robertson knew Gray's cheque wouldn't clear.

"By the 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 meetings and finally Robertson said she knew she wouldn't be paid.

One of the Great Pyrenees puppies born in August 2015 at Naturally Nerida Farm & Kennels in Gaspereau. (Facebook)

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 Scotia RCMP confirm.

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

Gray, 41, has a prior conviction for fraud and is charged with fraud in cases involving motor vehicles, car parts and building supplies, with the total amount topping 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 a GoFundMe campaign, 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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