A Sydney man is accused of scamming more than $91,000 from wannabe dog owners in five states before laundering the money through cryptocurrency.
Police say the man acted as a money mule for a multinational crime syndicate, receiving $91,580 in deposits from buyers into his bank accounts before converting the money into cryptocurrency.
The 53-year-old was arrested on Tuesday morning at a unit on George Street in Sydney's CBD.
Police say the man placed fraudulent ads online, mostly for English Staffordshire Bull Terriers and French Bulldog puppies, defrauding at least 23 buyers across Victoria, NSW, South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania.
The buyers paid deposits for dogs that never existed, before the fake breeders cut contact with them.
Inquiries are continuing.
