Scam Type
Online Purchase Scam
Business Name Used
Levi Pitbull Palace / puppy scam
Date Reported
Oct 26, 2022
Victim Postal Code
32738
Total Dollars Lost
1491
Scam Description
We contacted a breeder online to inquire purchasing a puppy. The breeder sent us an email along with stating that the puppy would need to be paid for thru Zelle we paid $671.00 and signed a Trade agreement, that also had a signature from a supposed attorney with a stamp reading Michael Holmes Burklyn Dept of Justice/Executive Officer for Attorney. Then the seller provided us with the shipper information and that the puppy would transport the same day and we would receive him by end of day. We received an email from him providing the shipping company name, Swift Air Shippers (https://swiftairshippers.com)and a tracking number. Initially we received an email from the shipping company (swiftairshippers@gmail.com) asking for $820.00 because the carrier the breeder provided was not what the puppy needed to be in, we paid this. The puppy was supposed to be sent directly, no stops. We received a confirmation that the puppy would be arriving at our local airport at 5:30 am, the next morning, and a tracking number to check his status. After checking the tracking number, we went to the airport, no puppy, they don’t even get flights that early in the day at that airport and they did not recognize the name of this shipper. I emailed the shipper about this and received another request asking for $1244.00, stating that they had actually stopped in Salt Lake City and the seller of the puppy did not provide proper ownership documents or vaccinations to continue the next step of the trip. They stated that the $1244.00 was needed to process updated ownership documents and provide vaccinations. I contacted the seller asking why none of this documentation had been provided and never heard back from him, I also emailed the shipping company for proof there was even a puppy being sent, since none of this was going the way it had been explained to me. The shipping company sent me a video of some dog crates being loaded onto a plane. The video did not even show the dogs it showed the back side of the crates. I emailed and told them the video didn’t show me the dog. Their response was to email me back stating that they needed the money to finish the transport and they wanted paid with Wal Mart Gift cards. I told them no they would need to contact the seller. I contacted the seller again telling him he owes me $1500.00 for the puppy that probably never existed and the money that I had sent the shipper. Needless to say, I have heard from either of them again. I think the seller and the shipping company were the same individual and I honestly had a hard time believing that this was all scam, I felt this was way to elaborate, with a puppy breeder, attorney signatures on a trade agreement and a shipping company, but at this point that’s all I can think.
