Georgia woman loses over $3k when she tries to buy a puppy

JACKSON COUNTY, Ga. — A Jackson County woman lost more than $3,600 when she tried to purchase a bulldog puppy through a fraudulent listing on a dog breeder website based out of Arkansas.

The victim saw a listing for an English Bulldog for sale for $650 on a website that claims to be a breeder’s site that specializes in English Bulldogs.

The photo of the dog in the fake listing was taken from Lisa Dunn Miller’s listing. Miller is a legitimate dog breeder, who is offering the actual dog, “Bull,” for sale on a different, real dog breeder’s website.

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Miller said a purebred dog can often cost thousands of dollars and that one listed for $650 is a red flag that the listing is fake.

“If someone won’t talk to you on the phone and you can’t see the puppy on FaceTime or check their references online, they’re not a trustworthy, reputable person that you should be buying a puppy from,” Miller told Channel 2 Action News.

The victim made contact with a man who identified himself as Juan Cooper on April 21, 2023, and spoke with him on the phone.

The victim said she paid Cooper the $650 asking price, along with a $200 shipping charge.

According to an incident report, Cooper told the victim the dog needed a crate before he could transport it and the cost for the crate was $996, but that would be 100% refundable.

The victim paid Cooper the $996.

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The victim also received an email that stated before the dog could be transported she needed to pay $1,800 for COVID-19 vaccines, which she paid.

Another email was sent to the victim that stated that the dog was held at a Tennessee airport because it was lacking several documents needed in order to ship the dog.

The email demanded the victim pay an additional $2,600 within two hours or she would be criminally charged for cruelty to animals and animal abandonment.

She then attempted to call the English Bulldog breeders website, but it appeared that the phone number did not work.

She then contacted the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.

In total, the victim ended up losing $3,646 to the man who claimed to be Cooper.

The website with the fraudulent listing currently has 8 listings for English Bulldog puppies, all with an asking price of $650.

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