Suspect Said To Have Needed $85 To Fly Animals Home

POSTED: 11:09 am EST March 2, 2005

ATLANTA -- A woman whose dog is missing says there's nothing lower than
preying on people who are desperate to get their pets back.

But that's what authorities in Atlanta say Andre Gould did.

Police say Gould used the Internet to find people who had posted
classified ads seeking lost dogs, focusing on animals that had been
implanted with a microchip that had identifying information.

Police say Gould would then pose as a truck driver who had found the
lost pet on the side of the road and offer to fly the animal home.

They say Gould got as many as 17 people in six states to wire him $85
for a pet carrier to fly their dogs home. He got $3,000 since December,
but no one got a pet back.

Gould has been charged with wire fraud and racketeering.