State police are looking for a man accused of scamming an elderly Mechanicsburg man out of three puppies in early February. According to police reports, 92-year-old Thomas Throne placed an ad in the newspaper looking to sell three English Bulldog puppies.
Throne was later contacted by a man, who identified himself as Paul Brown, of Philadelphia, who expressed interest in the dogs. The pair arranged to meet along the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Rapho Township on Feb. 1, police said.
During their meeting the suspect handed over two bogus PNC Bank certified cashiers checks totaling $7,500 in exchange for the puppies.
Throne didn’t know he had fallen victim to a scam until after he deposited the fake checks, troopers said.
The true identity of the suspect and the whereabouts of the dogs are unknown. The stolen puppies are mostly white with very few spots.
The two males and female have microchip implants registered under the following numbers:
- Male 1: AVID019324580
- Male 2: AVID019304870
- Female: AVID019367293
Anyone with information is asked to contact State Police Newport at 717-567-3110.