Victim Location 10901
Total money lost $945
Type of a scam Online Purchase
I contacted this website claiming to be a cat breeder and wanted to purchase one of the cats. We emailed back and forth, exchanging basic information and settled on a price. The representative then asked me to make payment using either MoneyGram or Bitcoin, I chose to send money via MoneyGram. The representative stated the the kitten was located in Texas, so I had to pay a delivery fee as well. I got a shipment confirmation in an email from a different company (Crowley Pet Delivery) stating that the kitten was to arrive on Friday, September 28th. However, once the kitten "was at the airport" I got an email and several phone calls with requests for an additional $1,550 "refundable assurance fee" which is more than what the kitten was originally worth. The email claimed that the money would be refunded to me in cash with the arrival of the kitten. The payment was again asked to be made via MoneyGram or Bitcoin, but I refused to pay that amount because that was unheard of. I had then realized that there was a strong possibility of the transaction being a scam and contacted a representative from the breeding company. They again repeated that I had to pay that money, or I would be reported for animal abandonment and fined $20,000. Again, I did not make the second payment. I had since then demanded I get my money back, with no luck. The photos of the kitten I had ordered are still up on the website and the website itself is still up and running. The original payment of $945 was made to an individual by the name of Brandon Hilson located in Dallas, Texas with the postal code of 75219.