Fate of Buchanan Abbey's llama herd still in question

Members of a religious community in Buchanan County raised llamas to generate revenue for their abbey, according to their spiritual leader.

How much is not clear, but Monastic Fleece, the name Ryan St. Anne Scott uses to market his herd, asks top dollar. For example, Kobra's Argentine Toro, a male llama for sale, is listed for $4,500 on the group's website. Breeding services go for $1,500.

"Our llamas are nurtured for their unique and gentle disposition as well as conformity to the uniqueness of their breed," according to the website.

Testimony from a creditors' meeting Friday in Galesburg, Ill., suggested the animals will play a central role in the Holy Rosary Abbey's bankruptcy case. Scott filed for Chapter 7 protection in December for a failed venture in Illinois. He filed for personal bankruptcy weeks later in Iowa.

Scott and his followers moved the herd, about two dozen strong, to Buchanan County as the financial situation in Illinois unraveled. Monday night, Scott and his group surrendered the former Buchanan County home, and authorities secured the property.

The group left 19 llamas behind. They are now in the care of a federal bankruptcy trustee, who will see that the animals are fed and watered.

According to Scott's bankruptcy court testimony Friday, the board of directors for the Holy Rosary Abbey transferred ownership of the llamas to his new corporate entity in Iowa, known informally as the Buchanan Abbey.

Scott testified the board for both entities are the same three people: Ryan St. Anne Scott; Brother Gregory Joseph, also known as Barry Rodgers; and Brother Isaac Thomas Bertke.

According to articles of incorporation, Bertke listed his address as the Buchanan Abbey. Scott testified Friday, however, that Bertke lives in St. Louis. He said he did not know where exactly.

During questioning under oath, Scott also was not clear on how and when the legal and physical transfer of llamas took place. He said the animals went to Iowa in either June or July. Certificates filed with the International Lama Registry changing ownership were dated either in that time period or in November 2010.

"What date did you put on that certificate?" asked James Inghram, a federal bankruptcy trustee.

"I'm not sure," Scott said.

Inghram is charged with finding and liquidating the Holy Rosary Abbey's assets.

The answers to those questions about the llamas could determine whether Scott committed a fraudulent transfer of property, a criminal offense.

Scott said the transfer happened without a bill of sale and the Buchanan Abbey did not pay for the llamas. The directors acted using a corporate resolution during a board meeting, but Scott could not produce those documents when asked Friday.

"You're going to get me copies of those resolutions and minutes," Inghram ordered later.

"Yes, I will," Scott said.

Inghram also demanded access to Scott's private account on the International Llama Registry.

"I want you to provide me that password," Inghram ordered.

Scott testified anyone with an Internet connection could review the organization's registry. However, Gayle Dumas, who did not attend the meeting, said that's not true.

"You have to be able to access the database, and in order to access the database, you have to be a paying member of the ILR," said Dumas, a llama enthusiast in Virginia who formerly helped Scott's group in Galesburg.

Kristy Brown of Sparta, Wis., is the secretary of the International Lama Registry board of directors. She said given Scott's former role with the organization, he should know the procedure, which hasn't changed for at least 10 years.

Scott served on the International Llama Registry board and at one time was chairman of its show division finance committee, according to his own writings.

Scott resigned the board position in the face of a recall petition circulated three or four years ago by other registry members, according to Brown. Some in the group, according to Scott's published writings and to Brown, were concerned about the self-described monk's checkered past and llama transactions.

"They were uncomfortable with some of his past dealings," Brown added.

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Whatever money or assets Inghram collects, will be distributed among the Holy Rosary Abbey's creditors. Those include the Illinois Department of Agriculture and its animal disease lab in Galesburg.

According to Illinois officials, Scott never paid a veterinary bill, and he owes the state $137.60.

A variety of publications have reported on the Scott's affinity for llamas. The Peoria Journal Star in December 2008 interviewed Scott about plans to donate wool to Operation Helmet Liner. The liners then would be passed along to U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But Linda Swinford, who founded Operation Helmet Liner, said Scott's group made no donations.

"We never received anything from them," she wrote in an email to The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.

Dumas, the llama enthusiast, previously worked with Scott's group in Galesburg. In fact, Scott credits one of Dumas' llamas with inspiring his interest in the animals.

Scott, in pursuing his passion, paid Dumas' air fare from Virginia so he could tap into her expertise. According to Dumas, she spent a week at the Holy Rosary Abbey teaching Scott's followers how to card fiber for spinning wool and how to clip their hooves, give shots and groom the animals.

"I was trying to make sure they know how to properly care for the llamas," Dumas said.

The pair later bought and sold llamas, and that is when their business relationship soured, according to Dumas, because Scott shipped an animal to her with an injury.

"It arrived with a huge, oozing abyss on its face that he hadn't told me about," Dumas said. "They claimed to not know anything about it."

She later learned from members of Scott's group a veterinarian had been treating the animal, though Scott denied it. Dumas had to get her vet involved.

"It cost several hundred dollars and a lot of pain for the animal because I was giving him two shots a day for a couple of months," she said.

Dumas is holding a registration certificate on one animal in Scott's possession --- TFF Glorious --- because he hasn't paid her the promised $1,400. A family heirloom is also missing.

Dumas said she gave her mother's pearls to Scott with the idea his nuns at the time would incorporate the jewels into an altar cloth.

"Once he decided he no longer liked me because I wouldn't bow to his wishes, he refused to give them back," Dumas said.

Dumas enjoys the llama, now healthy, that she bought from Scott. But she is frustrated she overlooked warning signs.

"I was suckered in by him, too, and I am so angry at myself. But he sets the stage very well," Dumas said.