The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has apparently completed three inspections at a facility that does not exist and is a shell corporation related to Tiger Creek Animal Sanctuary, according to USDA inspection reports.
Tiger Creek Animal Sanctuary is a nonprofit pseudo-sanctuary owned by Brian Werner (Ferris). The facility is USDA licensed as National Foundation for Rescued Animals. Their USDA license number is 74-C-0418 and their location is listed on the USDA website as site 002, Tiger Missing Link, with an address of 17552 FM 14, Tyler, TX. Their USDA license is active through August 4, 2021.
Great Cats in Crisis is a “nonprofit organization operating throughout the country to rescue big cats in emergency situations and alleviate their suffering,” according to their website. The website includes links to Tiger Missing Link Foundation, Tigerlink Advocacy Center and Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge. All of the links redirect to the Tiger Creek Animal Sanctuary website.
Great Cats in Crisis is also owned by Brian Werner with USDA license number 10-C-0002, active through June 27, 2022. The USDA lists their location as site 001 with an address of 1747 Pennsylvania Ave NW, STE 1000, Washington, DC. A Google search of the address comes back as the location of Webster, Chamberlain & Bean, a nonprofit and tax-exempt law firm.
Great Cats in Crisis is a shell corporation that has not filed a tax return since 2010. The nonprofit’s license has been auto-revoked by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), according to their website.
Shell companies are sometimes used for tax evasion, tax avoidance and money laundering, Wikipedia reports.
The IRS lists the address for Great Cats in Crisis as 1309 Wimbledon Dr., Washington, DC. A Google search indicates that address does not exist. However, 1309 Wimbledon Dr., Tyler, TX, does exist and is the former home of Brian Werner and the listed address of his Cat Daddy’s Properties business.
According to the Great Cats in Crisis website, the address to send donations to is 1090 Vermont Ave. Suite 910, Washington, DC. A Google search of this address indicates it’s the location of a registered agent. Registered agents receive mail, legal documents and other documents for businesses.
USDA Veterinary Medical Officer Cynthia Digesualdo has listed inspections she supposedly completed at Great Cats in Crisis in May 2018, April 2021 and June 2021. The inspections are duplicate copies of the Tiger Creek Animal Sanctuary inspections, with the name and location changed.
The duplicate inspection reports leave more questions than answers.
Why is Digesualdo filing false reports and claiming to inspect a facility that does not exist?
Why is Werner USDA licensed under two different names and two different site locations?
Why is Great Cats in Crisis claiming to be a nonprofit when they have not been active in 11 years?
Roadside Zoo News reported these concerns and others to the USDA. As of July 7, the USDA has removed all of the 2021 inspection reports for Tiger Creek Animal Sanctuary and Great Cats in Crisis from their website. The removal could signify the facility is under USDA investigation.
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