A police officer posing as a veterinarian has been arrested for defrauding families by selling them sick and emaciated kittens on the verge of death for profit.

“There are people and animals who have been victims here. Humans were at risk of contracting diseases from cats. Children looking forward to welcoming a new member to their family […] Only to see them die days later,” Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) prosecutor Hazel Stevens said, according to The Independent on Sunday.

On May 5, former British transport police officer Amy Byrne, 30, along with her husband Harry Angell, 31, reportedly pleaded guilty to fraud and animal welfare offenses at Woolwich Crown Court in England.

By usurping the identity of a real charity and going under thirty other names, the couple would have betrayed at least six families by selling them sick, malnourished, fecal-covered kittens, British media reported.

Using fake health certificates, the woman even posed as a veterinarian and promised that the kittens had been dewormed and microchipped.

By reselling the kittens, bought for around CA$85, for exorbitant sums, the couple expected to make a profit of £278,870 – the equivalent of more than $470,000 – thanks to their cheating.

After numerous complaints, investigators reportedly found 17 kittens at the couple’s home in August 2021, including six in poor condition.

“Getting a pet should have been a positive experience, but for many it has resulted in high vet bills to save their brand new and ailing kitten. And for some, watching them die before their eyes within hours was a devastating experience,” RSPCA investigator Kirsten Ormerod said after the sentencing, according to The Independent.

The 30-year-old was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison, while her husband is serving a three-year and four-month prison sentence.