Google sues scammer for ‘puppy fraud’

Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images

On Monday, the search engine giant sued a person for running an online puppy fraud scheme that cheated vulnerable people out of thousands of dollars with false promises of puppies.

The complaint accuses Nche Noel of using a network of fake websites, phone numbers, and Gmail accounts to pretend to sell basset hound puppies to people online. A victim paid Noel $700 for electronic gift cards to purchase a puppy. After sending the gift cards, Noel told the victim that the delivery company needed more money. The puppy never arrived according to the complaint.

The actor used a network of fraudulent websites that claimed to sell basset hound puppies with attractive photos and fake customer testimonials in order to take advantage of people during the Pandemic.

Noel was accused of running a campaign to promote fraudulent websites by running a campaign for Google Ads.

According to the complaint, the company was warned about the scam by the elderly issues group. The puppy fraud scam was detailed in a report by the AARP in November.

People spent more time on social media during the Pandemic. In April of last year, the Federal Trade Commission called for more than 350 companies to remove deceptive claims from the internet.

Noel is accused of violating the company's terms of service in conducting the alleged scam. Statutory relief for damages is sought by the company.