Suspect in dog theft sues Lady Gaga over promised $500K reward for return

Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY
·3 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

The Lady Gaga saga over her stolen dogs continues two years after the French bulldogs were returned.

Lady Gaga, 36, is being sued by a woman previously arrested and charged in connection with stealing her pets. Jennifer McBride, who returned Lady Gaga's dogs in February 2021, alleges in a complaint filed in Los Angeles Friday that the singer defrauded her into surrendering the pets with the promise of a "no questions asked" $500,000 reward. She has since not received the reward, McBride says in court documents obtained by USA TODAY.

McBride is suing for breach of contract, fraud by false promise and fraud by misrepresentation. In addition to demanding the $500,000 reward, she is seeking legal fees and compensation for financial "damages," "pain and suffering," "mental anguish" and "loss of enjoyment of life."

In McBride's complaint against Lady Gaga, she says she "fully performed her obligation under the unilateral contract" of "no questions asked" by returning the dogs. She also alleges the "House of Gucci" star "never intended to honor their unilateral offer to pay the reward money" and made the offer "with the intent to defraud and induce members of the public to rely upon it and to act upon said promise."

USA TODAY has reached out to Lady Gaga's reps for comment.

Lady Gaga is being sued over the $500,000 reward money for the safe return of her French bulldogs in February 2021.
Lady Gaga is being sued over the $500,000 reward money for the safe return of her French bulldogs in February 2021.

Lady Gaga's dog walker was attacked, and her French bulldogs were stolen

Ryan Fischer was walking Lady Gaga's three dogs — named Asia, Koji and Gustav — in Hollywood just off the famed Sunset Boulevard when he was shot once in the chest with a bullet from a .40-caliber handgun. Five people were arrested and charged in shooting Lady Gaga's dogwalker and stealing two of her French bulldogs. The third dog was left behind and later recovered.

James Howard Jackson, who shot Fischer during the struggle, pleaded no contest to attempted murder and was sentenced to 21 years in prison in December, the Los Angeles Times and Entertainment Weekly reported. Lafayette Whaley pleaded no contest to second-degree robbery and was sentenced to six years in prison in August, Deadline and the Washington Post reported. Jaylin Keyshawn White was immediately sentenced to four years in state prison, Deputy District Attorney Michele Hanisee told NBC4.

Another suspect, Harold White, pleaded no contest to being an ex-convict in possession of a firearm. He is due to be sentenced this year, per the L.A. Times and EW.

Jennifer McBride returned Lady Gaga's dogs, was arrested for robbery

McBride returned the singer's dogs to the Los Angeles Police Department's Olympic Community Police Station two days after the armed robbery. LAPD Capt. Jonathan Tippet said initially that the woman who returned the dogs appeared to be "uninvolved and unassociated" with the incident.

She was later charged with one count of receiving stolen property and accessory to attempted murder. In December, she struck a plea deal to dismiss the murder charge and was sentenced to two years of probation, according to the Los Angeles Times and Vanity Fair.

Contributing: Charles Trepany, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

Read more on Lady Gaga's stolen dogs:

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lady Gaga lawsuit: Dog theft suspect sues for $500K reward