We paid thousands for a teacup-size Pomeranian – but what we got was very different, we were heartbroken
A COUPLE claim they were scammed after paying thousands for a teacup Pomeranian breed puppy.
The California couple used a website in their search for the specific breed of dog, that can run from $1,500 to $6,500.
But they later discovered the pet did not exist - leading to the arrest of a Texas woman.
Elizabeth Montes, 44, from San Antonio, was convicted of felony conspiracy and theft in March 2022 for taking $2,000 from the couple and sending them nothing in return.
Montes had the couple under the impression that they were purchasing a small Pomeranian canine named "Jake" to keep them company amid the pandemic, according to the Santa Clara District Attorney's Office.
“Con artists all over the world are using love and loneliness during COVID to steal people’s money," Santa Clara County District
Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a release.
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“We are finding the crooks. We are prosecuting the crooks. You pay for Jake, you get Jake.”
Investigators discovered that Montes opened Zelle accounts through various banks and was receiving money from victims of the scam.
Montes' victims are said to have tried to make puppy purchases through the websites skylightpomeranian.com and Trans-Pet Express.
Bank records showed that Montes was linked to more than 75 scam victims that never received their puppies, according to prosecutors.
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The Santa Clara County victims sent her $600 through Zelle in April 2020 to buy a little pomeranian puppy named "Jake," which was advertised for sale on skylightpomeranian.com.
They said that everything seemed normal in the contract and shipping information as that part of the transaction was facilitated through the Trans-Pet Express company.
The couple later received an email saying that they had to send
an additional $1,400 to the seller to avoid having the puppy held in a
14-day COVID-19 quarantine.
The couple realized they were being scammed and reported the crime when they got another email that demanded an additional $1,300 for a "permit."