PHOENIX —
Phoenix clinic owner charged with theft for allegedly stealing dog
The controversial owner of a few Valley special needs clinics was arrested on Thursday for allegedly stealing a dog, according to Phoenix police records.
Bridget O’Brien was charged with misdemeanor theft.
O’Brien declined to comment to 12 News about the arrest. She has been the subject of past controversies involving unpaid workers, fraud allegations and questions surrounding COVID-19 business loans she received.
Alleged dog theft caught on camera
On Wednesday afternoon, surveillance video captured O’Brien stopping her car in front of a house near 36th Street and Camelback Road.
O’Brien was seen exiting her car and approaching a dog standing near the front yard. She appeared to examine the dog’s collar and then she ushered the dog into her car before driving away.
The dog, Max, lives at the house where the surveillance video was taken. Max was wearing a dog tag bearing the phone number and address of the house, according to his owner, Phoenix attorney Erik Stone.
Stone said that after viewing the video and realizing Max was gone, he assumed the woman would call him.
“I was hoping she was going to return him. But she never called,” Stone said.
Social media helped find the suspect
Stone blasted social media with a reward poster and images of O’Brien. The images were shared across platforms and, on Thursday, a former contractor of O’Brien's recognized her in the photo.
Other former employees of O’Brien verified her identity and contacted Stone.
“The power of social media and all the people that re-posted and shared. It made the difference,” Stone said, who was visibly emotional after getting his dog back.
On Thursday night, tips about O’Brien’s whereabouts led officers to the Embassy Suites hotel at 26th Street and Camelback Road.
Officers confronted O’Brien. The dog was being kept inside a hotel room.
It’s unclear why O’Brien was staying at the hotel. She allegedly did not give information about why she took Max.
A history of unpaid workers, fraud allegations
O’Brien was the owner of Head to Toe Therapy in Phoenix and has a history of not paying people for their work, as documented by 12 News.
The therapists typically worked as contractors and don’t have resources to fight O’Brien in court.
12 News investigations have led to more than 20 therapists getting paid what they were owed. But more people are owed money and O’Brien currently owes at least six former employees and contractors amounts ranging from $2,500 to $20,000.
Questions about COVID business funds
Treasury records show three businesses linked to O’Brien received COVID Paycheck Protection funds last year totaling between $1,300,000 and $2,700,000.
The money is supposed to pay for salaries and business expenses, but after allegations last year, O’Brien declined interview requests to discuss how she spent the money.
Those records suggested that O’Brien claimed more than 20 full-time employees between two companies on her PPP applications.
Her former Director of Operations and Development, who left the company in January of this year, tells 12 News that O’Brien only had four full-time employees during any time last year.
“According to my knowledge of her employees, and the payroll I was in charge of, the most employees she had were four,” said Michael Koehler.
County records show that O’Brien is the owner of a home valued at nearly $2 million, which she purchased in April 2020 in an adjacent neighborhood to the hotel where she was arrested.
Though O’Brien was arrested, she was not handcuffed or booked, according to police records.
Former employees of O’Brien still owed money
In 2019, the State of Arizona cut off funding to O’Brien’s Head to Toe clinic, accusing her of fraudulent practices that include billing for services not provided, using unlicensed employees and creating false documents.
Koehler said he is owed more than $20,000 and he knows several people who performed contract work for O’Brien who are owed money as well.
“I’m really concerned for them. They do need the money,” Koehler said.
O’Brien has owned or operated other companies and nonprofits including Enable Therapy, KIIDS, Future Forward and Werx.