The president of a since-shuttered Raleigh company that provided service dogs to those with medical concerns appeared in court on Friday, years after he was charged with fraud.

Mark Mathis pleaded guilty to 50 counts of obtaining property by false pretense. 

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Mathis' Ry-Con Service Dogs closed its doors in 2018 after dozens of families filed complaints alleging that the animals they were paired with were never properly trained to work with special needs children. Some said their dog was aggressive and in some cases, bit people or became violent with other dogs.

Court documents revealed that there were 50 victims who reported problems and that Mathis scammed customers out of nearly $600,000. There was $597,422 collected, according to the grand jury indictment.

Most of the victims were promised a dog that was intended to help with a family member's medical or developmental needs. Two were for those suffering from PTSD and one was for companionship and assistance.

Mathis will receive 12 separate sentences and faces 60 months of probation with conditions. Restitution will total $353,128.59. Mathis cannot train or sell dogs while he is on probation. He did not have any comment on the ruling when asked and did not speak in court. Judge Doug Green was disappointed in Mathis' choice not to give a statement.

"I would have thought you would have had the courage to make a statement," Green said to Mathis.

The state said victims paid between $4,500 and $16,710 for Briard breed dogs that Mathis said were trained to help people with disabilities.  

One person who spoke in court said their daughter committed suicide after having to give up a dog that wasn't trained as promised. 

Another mother, Maggie Vladyka, made sure to bring her daughter McKenna to court.

"It's her dog," Maggie said. "And she was the one who was really affected by this. And I wanted someone to see that."

Ultimately, Mathis not getting jail time was a hard pill to swallow for Vladyka.

"I think what we wanted more now than the money was the justice and for him to really understand how he took advantage of a community that already has enough problems and doesn't have enough support," she said.

If Mathis misses three consecutive restitution payments, he will be taken into custody and brought back to court.

In 2020, Mathis was indicted by a Wake County grand jury on 42 counts of obtaining property by false pretense. Current North Carolina Governor Josh Stein investigated Mathis' business when he was attorney general.

In a 2020 WRAL News report, Mathis said his business had to close due to financial difficulties. Mathis started Ry-Con after getting a trained service dog for one of his sons, who has autism.