Two Somerset County dog breeders will appear in federal court today to answer to charges that they transported sick puppies to unsuspecting buyers in other states and made up a fake veterinarian to help them do it.

David Holtzman and Timothy B. Schliesser, who ran a business on Sheep Ridge Road in Somerset under the names Laurel Ridge Bulldogs and T&D Quality Pups, were indicted last month on charges of conspiracy and false documents.

According to U.S. postal inspectors, Holtzman and Schliesser used falsified health certificates from a fictitious veterinarian to sell and transport puppies by air in 1999 and 2000 to customers in California, Washington state and elsewhere.

The charges largely mirror a civil lawsuit brought against the men in 2001 by the state attorney general's office that accused them of ripping off at least 20 people in 14 states.

The lawsuit charged both with breeding and selling English bulldogs, pugs and cockapoos at an unlicensed kennel.

They were also accused of violating the state's consumer protection law, Animal Welfare Act and the Dog Purchaser Protection Act.