Puppies, cryptocurrency and offshore scammers: How one Kiwi became a money mule

A man involved in a scam involving fake puppies, cryptocurrencies and mysterious perpetrators abroad has been accused of money laundering, but he says he was a victim too.

Guy Behan-Kitto appeared in New Plymouth District Court Earlier this week, he faced a representative charge of money laundering related to the scheme that defrauded several people out of thousands of dollars.

The court heard the victims had responded to Facebook ads and Buy and Sell listings. Sale of puppies and car parts.. It is likely that the publications originated abroad.

Behan-Kitto, from Taranaki, assisted in the transactions by allowing the perpetrators to use his bank account to redistribute the money into cryptocurrency before moving it overseas.

For his participation he received 10 percent of all transactions.

Each of the fraudulent transactions occurred in December 2022 and began with a $200 payment from a victim who believed they were purchasing a puppy.

But after making the payment, the victim was prevented from contacting the seller and the puppy was never delivered or the money refunded.

This was the modus operandi used in five more transactions.

They included $500 for a vehicle part, $400 for a puppy, $1,000 for a puppy, $2,700 for one night, and $460 for bullbars.

In another transaction, a victim received a text message via WhatsApp from someone posing as her daughter.

The victim was asked to pay $4,221.45 into Behan-Kitto's bank account in the belief that her “daughter” urgently needed the money.

Once the payment was made, the victim did not receive any further communications from the sender.

In explanation of his offending, Behan-Kitto told police that an unknown person contacted his partner on Snapchat and asked to use his account to purchase cryptocurrency.

But instead he gave his bank account to an unknown person, the court heard.

At his sentencing, the court heard the victim lost $1000.

He had suffered mentally and financially, he said in a statement read by a victim counsellor.

"I was very excited to have a puppy."

The woman said the seller used a “cute” photo and provided a personal story about the dog coming from a family.

She was angry at herself for not realizing sooner that it was a scam, noting the listed number and the seller's “pathetic spelling” and “use of the English language.”

"I should have known immediately that it was a scam, but I didn't know until I sent the money."

Tried to cancel the payment but was too late.

Crown prosecutor Holly Bullock argued that Behan-Kitto should pay each victim's entire loss, rather than just the 10 per cent she had collected from each transaction.

But defense lawyer Josie Mooney disagreed, saying that while she could pay 10 per cent immediately, she could not pay the full amount.

Behan-Kitto also felt like a victim, Mooney said.

"There was clear naivety on their part as to what exactly was being carried out."

Mooney said Behan-Kitto's employment would be affected because of the conviction and that he felt very bad about what had happened to the victims.

"He was completely unaware of this background but it is accepted that he should have seen the red flags and should have asked more questions and that is where the guilty plea came from."

Judge Gregory Hikaka, however, ordered the full amount of reparation.

He said without Behan-Kitto's involvement, the victims would not be victims.

"Your offense robbed them."

In addition to restitution, Behan-Kitto was found guilty and ordered to appear for sentencing if called within the next 12 months.

Tara Shaskey joined NZME in 2022 as news director and Open Justice reporter. She has been a reporter since 2014 and previously worked at Stuff, where she covered crime and justice, arts and entertainment, and Māori issues.