Info RepScue AZ and Raven Alexander Knight

[AneryB]

Hello everyone, I wanted to post some information to allow everyone to make their own judgement on an AZ Reptile Rescue called RepScue. Their founder is Raven Alexander Knight who also goes by Rae Alexander. This rescue and individual has found it fit to flip rescue animals and post customer/recipient of rescue animal addresses when they disagree with them. They claimed a hack last night, which in upcoming screenshots will be proven as false, and have cleaned up their page, but no apology has been made to the individual whose address they have released. A Screenshots will be posted below, along with who I have gotten them from and any extra details necessary. Thanks for looking.

 

[AneryB]

The first three screenshots have been provided to me by Tom Gutierrez and the fourth screenshot is of the message he sent me when I posted against support for his rescue in Monitor Lizards the Urban Dinosaur(I have no screenshots of that and do apologize)

 

[AneryB]

Jessica's address has been edited out due to safety reasons. The first image is of what he messaged me about to delete. This image was provided to me by Tyler George. The last three screenshots have been provided to me by Heather Devers and Jonathan Shaw.

 

[AneryB]

Final photos for now, in one you can see him advertising to trade ball pythons he has just rescued which was provided to me by Khris Wisener.

 

[AneryB]

Sorry, I forgot the photos.

 

[Billy1138]

It makes no sense to me that someone would claim to run a business, but conduct themselves in such an appalling and inappropriate manner in a public forum.

This may be off topic and I apologize, but I notice that the icon for the repscue az in the messenger is a little picture of two hands holding a chameleon. There's a reptile rescue local to me that has the same logo. The rescue local to me is a legitimate 501c3, very respected in our community and does amazing work, both behind the scenes and in the public eye.

I need to share this information with the owner regarding the same image being used...however, when I go on Facebook now to look at repscue AZ the image is gone... Interesting...

 

[AneryB]

I agree. The behavior seen is appalling. The logo is from Friend's of Scales I believe? RepScue was told about this and have changed their logo

 

[Billy1138]

Yes friends of scale reptile rescue. You're right Repscue must have changed it. I am taking with the owner of FOS right now. At least repscue deleted it. It was just one more unprofessional mark against him

 

[AneryB]

Update: They have changed their name to RepScue PHX

 

[tlmoon]

Is this guy running an actual rescue (I mean in the legal sense)? I don't know what the laws are in AZ but if he is actually registered with the state I wonder if he is violating the rules by flipping snakes. Certainly the tax board might be interested if he is claiming some kind of tax exempt or charitable status.

Or maybe the "rescue group" is a fabrication he uses to get snakes?


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[AneryB]

I am unsure about the rules, but I wouldn't be surprised if this individual and his group are breaking some. I wouldn't be surprised if he is just trying to get cheap/free animals, the email I posted shows he is willing to flip recently rescued snakes.

I can see he is currently trying to get out of filing a 501 too, which is shady....

 

[AneryB]

Claimed in previous screenshot that they don't handle money then has a post about donations....

 

[HerpVenue]

They go from
"501 has been filled"
to
"we don't need a 501"

And while the paperwork for the 501 is "filed" or "NOT filed" they also have a name change from Repscue AZ to Repscue PHX. They also say they are a "partnership" but do not need to file taxes because they are not in it for the money. These guys have no idea how business works.

 

[HerpVenue]

his or her reply to me. Which he, her or they subsequently deleted

 

[HerpVenue]

If you see in the previous post. He stated that they already talked to their lawyer and provided screen shots of what their lawyer told them. One of those screenshots will be attached below. Weird thing is the "advice" from the screenshot is easily searchable through the internet. Which means he did not speak to his lawyer like they say. They just looked stuff up on the internet.

Then link shows where they found the advice "their lawyer" gave them....lol
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-an-unincorporated-nonprofit-association.html


.

 

[bcr229]

All that having a 501c3 designation does is allow contributors to deduct the donation on their tax form each year. Otherwise the donation is a gift and no tax deduction is permitted. No different than giving money to a lobbying organization or PAC, as those contributions are not tax deductible.

So basically this is just a group/network of people calling themselves a "rescue".

I'm involved in a similar local network because animal control in our area just doesn't deal well with reptiles, so scaley babies tend to get put down quickly. If we learn of one that was surrendered or seized we try to spread the word quickly among the local herp community so that it gets adopted and not euthanized. We don't call ourselves a "rescue" or solicit donations though, we cover all expenses ourselves.

 

[AneryB]

Thanks for the clarification Melinda!!!

 

[Lucille]

They go from
"501 has been filled"
to
"we don't need a 501"

And while the paperwork for the 501 is "filed" or "NOT filed" they also have a name change from Repscue AZ to Repscue PHX. They also say they are a "partnership" but do not need to file taxes because they are not in it for the money. These guys have no idea how business works.

The language used by RepScue AZ in the first couple screenshots is unacceptable IMHO. I can think of no better way to enact some cosmic karma (and get paid in the process) than to ferret out some particulars and if the particulars warrant, fill out the form below:

 

[Jason_Cerastes]

Not a legit rescue.

He is not an actual rescue. He claims to be a non profit rescue but doesn't have his tax id. He sells the animals he gets for free on Craigslist, I don't care if he sells them to good homes but he claims to be a breeder. So there lies my issue, is he a breeder or a rescue? He's neither.

 

[tlmoon]

I think this "group" may find the IRS does not have such an amorphous view of what constitutes taxable income. They don't really care if people gave you money in trade for something, or if they gave you supplies which you then sold, or how nicely you spend your money to help animals or anyone else. You don't get to just decide that you are a good person doing good things so you aren't going to pay taxes.