The New Jersey Attorney General is accusing two trustees of a horse rescue in that state of misappropriating more than $60,000 in contributions from online donors who thought they were saving horses from so-called kill-buyers.

In a suit filed in Superior Court of New Jersey on Dec. 2, the Office of the Attorney General and the Division of Consumer Affairs allege that between September 2009 and September 2010, N.J. Horse Angels, an unregistered charitable organization headquartered in Phillipsburg, and its trustees Sharon Catalano-Crumb and Frank Wikoff, used internet networking sites to raise $145,132 in contributions from online donors. The rescue, which also operated under the names N.J. Horse Angels Rescue, N.J. Killpen Horses, Horse Angels of Facebook, Camelot Auction Horse Angels, and The Forgotten Angels, stated its purpose was to purchase horses at auction that were destined for processing plants in Canada and Mexico.

The suit claims that Catalano-Crumb used at least $61,422 of those contributions to pay for trips to Atlantic City casinos, personal meals and shopping, pre-paid phone cards, and cash withdrawals. Calalano-Crumb also allegedly used the funds to purchase jewelry for Wikoff and sent cash to her son, who is serving a life sentence at Trenton State Prison. Another $9,000 remains unaccounted for in the ongoing investigation.

Jeff Lamm spokesman for Attorney General Pam T. Dow said Dow's office and the Division of Consumer Affairs began investigating the rescue's activities after receiving complaints from donors