A South Carolina man who offered to sell a live baby deer on Facebook – either as a scam or a bad joke – is facing possible jail time even though the fawn didn’t exist.
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources was tipped to a Facebook post last week that offered a “kid-friendly pet deer for sale” at a price of “$150 or best offer.”
According to The Herald, the SCDNR launched an investigation and set up a “covert” Facebook page with which to contact the 20-year-old man, identified as Shaunquese Nathan “Shaun” Scott.
Undercover officers were under the impression that Scott was trying to scam the public and attempted to set up a meeting to pretend to purchase the deer. Scott, however, insisted that they send money via a “cash app” instead.
Officers then tracked down Scott and discovered that there was no deer.
“He admitted he took it too far and it was supposed to be a joke after officers explained the issues and the illegality of offering to sell protected wildlife online,” the SCDNR stated on its Facebook page.
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“Officers determined he was attempting to trick people into wiring him money for the deer and he never possessed the deer. He told officers he found the picture online and thought it would be a good joke.”
Scott was charged with “offering to sell protected native wildlife,” the SCDNR said.
According to the agency, that carries a maximum sentence of 30 days in jail and a maximum fine of $500.
–Fawn image is via Wikipedia