Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
Guardia Civil busted a VALENCIA gang selling toy poodles with false claims about their pedigree.
Seven people were allegedly involved in the scam that charged up to €6,200 for people to reserve a dog online.
Authorities report that at the very least, 20 Spanish buyers were defrauded.
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The Guardia investigation began in October, after a lab in the Madrid region claimed that fake genetic reports were being produced using its name. This had damaged their professional reputation.
Officers targeted a pet breeding center that made false claims on the pedigree of puppies sold via the Internet.
The gang consisted of two individuals who, according to the allegations, maintained and established contacts with the victims.
Prices demanded for the the dogs were ‘significantly higher’ than the normal market charge, amidst allegations that purchasers were getting a high pedigree pet or that it had ‘exceptional genetic characteristics’.
The group is accused of manipulating and usurping records from other breeders in order to fool buyers.
They claimed in their advertisements that the poodles are bred outside of Spain, but they were actually born in Valencia.
Also, they used logos from legitimate businesses and associations without authorization and professional reports by a veterinarian claiming vaccinations and microchipping were not done.
Guardia Civil raided in late January the homes of the gang leaders, as well as a breeding centre.
The officers seized the computers and documents for further analysis.
Two people were arrested, and five others are under investigation for animal abuse and fraud.
