Fraud in the marketing of horses has a long history of drawing draconian punishment. Last year a California woman got almost four years in jail for drugging horses and painting them for sale.
http://live.mynorthwest.com/category/national_news_articles/20110414/Calif-woman-gets-41-months-for-horse-fraud-scheme
Ann Romney did the same thing, but received no jail time, just a lawsuit.
http://www.politicolnews.com/ann-romneys-horse-lawsuit-over-drugging-a-lame-horse-to-sell-it/
Ann performed on a lame horse for five years as her people drugged it ever more heavily. Not only does it reinforce the idea of animal cruelty which is so apparent in the Romney family, but business fraud as well.
Mitt Romney sold Damon Corp. to Corning at a profit, but Damon Corp. had been inflating revenue by bogus Medicare claims. Romney said, oh, I blew the whistle on that, but if he did, he didn't tell Corning, and the FBI categorically denied it. If his story was true, he defrauded Corning. If his story is a lie, then he was ignorant of a fraud scheme and didn't understand the business he was running. Ignorance would be the best defense for the Romneys both in the case of Damon Corp. and the horse, but they won't defend it that way. ABC wrote a biased article on his behalf about Damon earlier this year, claiming 1) other companies also did it; and 2) after outside counsel told them to change policies, Romney says he did it. No names or memos or dates proving this have been provided, so it's quite possible this is as phoney as his previous denials. Nonetheless, it still does not excuse him from the charge of defrauding Corning Inc.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/the-story-behind-romney-medicare-fraud-and-the-latest-superpac-movie/
Indeed, stories like Damon, Dade International, and the horses indicate that the Romneys' core business practices involved fraud. That should come as no surprise to those who see his relentless lying on the campaign trail, but it is important because his wealth is his only recommendation for competence; and since that wealth is more and more seen as a case of sharp practice, it means that Romney has no justification for running for president.
It's likely he already knows this. Some of his campaign advisers have revealed that he is avoiding the mainstream media, refusing to do interviews, and concentrating on right wing conspiracy blogs to plant his anti-Obama messages.
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/07/01/509328/romney-advisors-reveal-strategy-ignore-journalists-pander-to-right-wing-conspriacy-websites/
If that seems dumb, think again. First of all, the mainstream media are in his corner anyway, because he and his friends own them. Second, he is a desperately unlikeable personality, and that won't change by November. Third, he apparently sees the election as a referendum on Obama and the economy, so the less specific he is, the more votes he will pick up. His best play, then, is to remain distant and vague.
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/Ken-Walshs-Washington/2012/06/15/team-romney-election-a-referendum-on-the-economy
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