Woman accused of helping steal Lady Gaga’s dogs is suing for the reward to return them

A woman who was accused of helping steal Lady Gaga’s French bulldogs is now suing the singer over an unpaid $500,000 reward after she returned the dogs, according to media outlets.

Two suspects stole the two dogs and shot the star’s dog walker at around 9:40 p.m. on Feb. 24, 2021, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The dog walker, later identified as Ryan Fischer, survived but was critically injured, according to People.

Two days later, a woman who said she found the dogs reached out to Lady Gaga’s staff and brought them to a Los Angeles police station, according to the department.

On April 27, 2021, Los Angeles police arrested five people in connection with the armed robbery, according to NPR. One of the people arrested, Jennifer McBride, was the same woman who returned the stolen dogs to police, the outlet reported.

McBride pleaded no contest on Dec. 22 to one count of receiving stolen property and was sentenced to two years of probation, according to the LA Times.

In a lawsuit filed Feb. 24, McBride’s attorney argued that Gaga, who initially offered a reward of $500,000 “no questions asked” for the safe return of her two dogs, “committed a breach of contract, fraud by false promise and fraud by misrepresentation” by failing to pay McBride, according to People.

Representatives for Lady Gaga, whose given name is Stefani Germanotta, did not respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

At the time of the robbery, Gaga tweeted photos of her dogs, Koji and Gustav.

“My heart is sick and I am praying my family will be whole again with an act of kindness,” she wrote. “I will pay $500,000 for their safe return”

“I continue to love you Ryan Fischer, you risked your life to fight for our family,” she wrote in another tweet. “You’re forever a hero.”

McBride’s lawsuit says that after offering the reward and not paying, Gaga “defrauded” McBride “by making a promise without intent to perform,” according to Buzzfeed News.

McBride experienced “pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life” due to not receiving the $500,000 reward, the lawsuit says, according to Buzzfeed News.

Gaga is a 13-time Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter famous for hits such as “Just Dance,” “Born This Way” and “Bad Romance.” Gaga has also starred in movies including “A Star is Born” and “House of Gucci.”

This story was originally published February 27, 2023 at 3:57 PM with the headline "Woman accused of helping steal Lady Gaga’s dogs is suing for the reward to return them."