FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, December 19, 2025
Contact: nahmed@ncdoj.gov
919-538-2809
RALEIGH – Today, Attorney General Jeff Jackson convicted Mark Mathis of 50 counts of obtaining property by false pretense in Wake County Superior Court. Mathis, as owner of Ry-Con Service Dogs, claimed to sell specially trained service dogs to families with medical or developmental needs. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Mathis is banned from training or selling service animals and must pay a total of $353,000 in restitution to 50 families who purchased a service dog.
“There are few things more cruel than exploiting families who are trying to help their children live safer, more independent lives,” said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. “Selling fake service dogs isn’t just fraud – it robs children with disabilities of support they rely on and puts them at risk. These families trusted him with their kids’ safety and well-being, and he betrayed that trust. That’s why we shut this operation down and held him accountable.”
Ry-Con targeted families with special needs family members, often autistic children, who paid thousands of dollars for dogs that did not meet proper training, health, or care standards to be service animals. Victims paid between $4,500 and $16,710 for Briard breed dogs that Mathis said were trained to help people with disabilities.
Briards are a breed unsuited for service work due to their wariness of strangers, aggression, and difficulty with other animals. These families received dogs that were not properly trained or cared for. Many were not housebroken, some were underweight, and several had other health problems. The dogs were unable to follow basic commands or walk on a leash. They were also poorly socialized, which led to them showing aggression to humans as well as other animals and posing a higher degree of risk to the children and families they were supposed to be supporting.
A dog trainer that Mathis hired quit on the first day after witnessing the dogs’ condition and lack of training. Dogs that were set to go home with families could not walk on leashes or follow basic commands, despite being advertised as having completed a year of training.
The Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Division received more than 50 complaints about Ry-Con from families within and outside of North Carolina and subsequently conducted a civil investigation into Mathis and Ry-Con. The office’s Criminal Division then handled the criminal case referred by the Wake County District Attorney.
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