FBI Pittsburgh office helps in COVID-19 pet scheme investigation
WASHINGTON (KDKA) - The FBI Pittsburgh Field Office helped investigate a man who was scheming Americans into paying higher fees for pets that were never delivered.
"While many people came together to support each other during the pandemic, this defendant chose to use COVID-19 as a means to defraud the victims in this matter and he will now serve a prison sentence to answer for that crime," said U.S. Attorney Cindy K. Chung.
Desmond Bobga was extradited to the U.S. from Romania in April 2021, and according to court documents, between June 2018 and June 2020, he conspired with others to offer pets for sale on the internet and they would then claim the pet transport was delayed and the customer would have to pay an additional fee for the delivery of the pet.
They told some victims they needed to pay more because the pet had been exposed to COVID-19 and then used false documents regarding shipping fees and COVID-19 exposure to get the additional payments.
Once they received the money, no pets were delivered.
"Mr. Bobga was a scam artist, plain and simple," said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Mike Nordwall. "He exploited those who were looking for comfort during the COVID pandemic and cashed in at their expense. The FBI is firmly committed to holding fraudsters like Mr. Bobga accountable."
Bobga was sentenced to 21 months in prison and two years supervised release.
