Cypress Arrow owner gets 5 years probation in federal theft case; state case dropped
The former owner of a dog training business was sentenced in federal court to five years probation Friday, and her attorney announced in court that Rapides Parish District Attorney Phillip Terrell had told him his office would not be prosecuting her on animal cruelty charges.
Tina Brimer Frey, 53, had pleaded guilty in federal court in June to one count of theft of government property. She had entered an agreement in 2019 with the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs to teach veterans at her former business, Cypress Arrow K9 Academy in Lena.
The government alleged Frey lied in order to get that funding, including how long Cypress Arrow had been in business, the percentage of non-veteran students in courses, making up names of students she claimed attended her courses and more.
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"In some cases, Frey obtained VA funding when she provided no services whatsoever," reads the fact sheet included in her plea agreement.
In August 2022, Frey and her daughter, Victoria Brimer, were arrested by the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office after a video on social media allegedly showing abuse of a dog went viral and the owner of one dog filed a complaint.
Both were charged with two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals. Frey later was arrested on an additional count of the same offense.
Before the women were arrested for the first time, their then-attorney Bradley Drell released a statement that said the sheriff's office had gone overboard because of the "intense public pressure" after the video went viral.
A message sent late Friday afternoon to Terrell to confirm that Frey won't be prosecuted — and if a decision has been made in Brimer's case — wasn't immediately answered.
A civil lawsuit was filed in December 2022 by six former clients and a former employee against Cypress Arrow, Frey and Brimer. That lawsuit has been continued without any new dates, according to online Rapides Parish Clerk of Court records.
This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Tina Frey gets probation in federal case; cruelty case won't be tried
