JAMES MARINAKIS arrested after Palm Beach County authorities discovered several malnourished and injured horses living in filthy stalls

- Florida, USA -

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office arrested 75-year-old JAMES MARINAKIS (pictured), a Boca Raton male with a years-long history of animal abuse accusations.

On October 28, 2025, Palm Beach County Division of Animal Care and Control received an anonymous complaint from someone who saw underweight horses on MARINAKIS’ property in the 12200 block of 200^th Street South in Boca Raton.

According to the civil petition, the following day, deputies executed a search warrant at the property and found pastures without adequate shelter, little grass for grazing and an “excessive amounts of feces.” Stalls were found in “deplorable, unsanitary conditions.”

The petition further stated that many of the horses on the property were thin and unable to move normally. Additionally, the horses suffered from a bacterial skin infection known as rain rot, also called rain scald or dermatophilosis.

The ten horses found on the property ranged from 4 years old to more than 20 years old. According to the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office, eight of them were in poor condition and several of them were “severely malnourished or injured.”

Animal Care and Control secured eight of the horses and took them for emergency veterinary care.

Equine veterinarians that examined the eight horses confirmed they suffered from poor body condition, dehydration, malnutrition, dental disease, overgrown hooves, rain rot, and untreated wounds. One of the horses, a 4-year-old white and brown leopard Appaloosa stallion, required surgery due to “a large mass on his leg that was infested with maggots.”

The sheriff’s office said that these results were “consistent with long-term neglect.”

The status of the two horses who were not removed from the property is not known at this time.

MARINAKIS was arrested on November 21, 2025, and charged with five counts of unlawful abandonment or confinement of an animal and three counts of aggravated animal cruelty.

MARINAKIS was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail and released the following morning after posting a $6,000 bond.

A judge scheduled a hearing for December 5, 2025, to determine what will happen with the horses, to reimburse the county for the costs of caring for them and to possibly prohibit MARINAKIS from “owning” any animals in the future.

###

Voice For Us Disclaimer: This story is sourced from the press release provided to Voice For Us by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. Please note that details may be removed or new information added should updates become available.

In the case of charges being dropped, dismissed, or the case being purged, this article will be rectified accordingly, if official documentation is provided to Voice For Us.

MARINAKIS' mugshot provided to Voice For Us by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

Pictures provided to Voice For Us by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

For more animal cruelty stories, please click here. Thank you!