A California woman accused of misrepresenting horses she offered for sale on equine-related websites pleaded guilty to a federal fraud charge under a plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles last week.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph N. Akrotirianakis said that between Nov. 2004 and June 2008, Trina Lee Kenney of Wrightwood, Calif., allegedly made false claims about the breed, registration status, health, abilities, and temperaments of horses she offered for sale on equine-focused websites including horsetopia.com, equine.com, agdirect.com, equinenow.com, and dreamhorse.com.

“In one case she drugged a horse that she claimed was safe for a child or a timid rider and painted other horses to the color horse she advertised," Akrotirianakis said. "In some cases buyers never received the horses they purchased."

Kenney's advertisements, some of which were placed under aliases, offered buyers a money back satisfaction guarantee. But she allegedly did not return calls or emails from dissatisfied customers and refused to return payments on misrepresented or undelivered horses, he said