The US has charged a 27-year-old Cameroonian student with exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to scam people into buying puppies which didn’t exist, the Justice Department said. Fodje Bobga is a university student in Romania in the city of Cluj. He has been arrested. He was charged in the city of Pittsburgh with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, forging a seal of the US Supreme Court and aggravated identity theft. The website he used in the alleged scheme, www.lovelyhappypuppy.com, has been deleted, the department said.

“The Department of Justice is committed to deterring and disrupting schemes, especially transnational ones, that take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic for financial gain by victimizing consumers,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffery Bossert Clark for the Civil Division. “We are grateful to our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Pennsylvania and the FBI for working hard to shut down this fraud scheme and to punish criminals who seek to exploit American’s fondness for animals.” “The dog adoption market can be a breeding ground for catfish schemes. Fodje Bogda and his co-conspirators exploited a national pandemic — and the social isolation it engendered — to exploit victims with photos of cute puppies and to bilk extra costs under the pretense of COVID,” said U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady for the Western District of Pennsylvania. “With the holiday season upon us, and the desire for companionship higher than ever, don’t fall prey to scammers selling pets online: do your research and verify.”

The authorities accuse him of exploiting the social isolation during Covid-19 pandemic to defraud victims using photos of cute puppies.

“Unfortunately, the pandemic has created the perfect condition for unscrupulous pet sellers to thrive,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Michael Christman. “This suspect exploited this website to sell puppies and capitalized on people looking for companion animals online during this difficult time. The FBI has a long arm and an even longer reach and no matter where these scammers are, we will stop at nothing to make sure they don’t get away with victimizing American citizens.”

The BBC’S Jonathan Savage reports that one of the victims include a woman in Pennsylvania, who was conned out of more than $9,000 (£6,700) trying to secure a mini-dachshund puppy for her mother. Another victim lost $1,500 attempting to purchase a teacup Chihuahua named Bentley. The FBI Special Agent in Charge, Michael Christman, warned: “the pandemic has created the perfect condition for unscrupulous pet sellers to thrive”.