Some folks are willing to spend a fortune for exotic felines, and unscrupulous, greedy breeders are happy to exploit these fancy cat fanciers, judging from the recent seizure by Dutch authorities of three exotic cats from a Delaware breeder, Lifestyle Pets. The large, leopard-like cats caught the eye of customs officials concerned that their sale might be a violation of the international treaty known as CITIES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora.

Lifestyle Pets claims that the cats are a trademarked breed called “Ashera,” which it sells in the U.S. for $22,000 to $27,000. The Ashera, according to Lifestyle, is a “proprietary blend” of exotic bloodlines, including African Serval and Asian Leopard, two species of cats that are protected by the CITIES treaty”along with their offspring.

One of the three alleged Asheras had been sold to a Dutch couple for roughly $40,000; the other two were on their way to another country. But other breeders who spotted pictures of the confiscated kitties recognized them as Savannahs, another exotic breed that sells for a mere $5,000 to $6,000.

Lifestyle Pets is an offshoot of Allerca, the company that created a supposedly allergen-free cat back in 2006 which it now sells for $7,900. But the company has never submitted any peer-reviewed proof to back up its claims, and the company’s founder, Simon Brodie, has a long history of dubious business dealings in his native Britain, as BendWeekly reports:

Brodie”has a history of failed companies and a criminal conviction involving a business venture in his native Britain. Brodie was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in jail for accounting fraud for his role in the 1992 demise of Cloudhoppers, a hot air balloon-flight business.

From hot air to fake felines, Brodie’s ventures seem designed to deflate under the weight of his bogus marketing. But if you’re foolish enough to shell out tens of thousands of dollars for an exotic cat when there are millions of equally wild and wonderful kitties literally dying for a good home in our animal shelters, you’ve got greater things to feel sheepish about than getting swindled.

Find out why wild cats and their “domesticated” offspring don’t make ideal pets at The Humane Society’s website.