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Arizona buyer of Ford Bronco stolen from Michigan factory loses $75,000

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Arizona buyer of Ford Bronco stolen from Michigan factory loses ,000


PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) – Everything looked like it was legitimate. All of the paperwork was in order. The vehicle even appeared to have been driven from Alaska, with an Alaska license plate and a few thousand miles on the odometer. The problem is this Ford Bronco Raptor was one of dozens of brand-new vehicles stolen from the factory lot in Detroit and sold to unsuspecting buyers here in Arizona.

“I messed up, for sure,” said Nick, whose last name Arizona’s Family Investigates agreed not to disclose so he would tell his story. Nick purchased the Bronco in March after seeing it listed on Craigslist.

He paid $75,000 for the vehicle after doing a Carfax check and taking the title to a third-party MVD location in Phoenix. “If there was any issues, the VIN would have flagged – I’m assuming in the system that they have. And it didn’t,” said Nick.

But it turns out the sellers had switched the VIN. The new VIN does not appear to have raised any red flags in the state’s auto-title computer system.

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Three weeks later, when Nick traded the Bronco for a larger pickup truck at a Valley dealership, an employee noticed a discrepancy with the VINs and called the police. “The dealership called. The general manager called. He was like really pissed off and screaming at me on the phone,” said Nick.

Police took custody of the vehicle, and Nick says he is out the $75,000 he spent. He’s not the only victim. Other buyers in Arizona, New Mexico and Tennessee were also scammed. It’s unclear how this Bronco ended up in Arizona. It had Alaska plates and registration and appears to have spent time in California.

Last week, police in Canton, Michigan, announced they arrested seven people in connection to the theft of Broncos from the Ford lot. This week, the Arizona Auditor General’s Office issued a report criticizing state oversight of third-party MVD offices.

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Arizona

Arizona AG demands answers over Social Security service ‘breakdowns’

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Arizona AG demands answers over Social Security service ‘breakdowns’


PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes says her office is demanding answers after reported failures and disruptions at the Social Security Administration.

In a letter dated Tuesday, the attorney general asked for steps to be taken to address a service crisis reported by seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income residents in Arizona. According to state officials, the AG’s office has received hundreds of reports related to delayed payments, wrongful benefit suspensions, and an inability to reach the office by phone or in person.

“The Social Security Administration is failing the very people it was created to serve,” said Mayes. “From lost payments to seven-hour hold times to field offices turning away walk-ins, the stories we’ve heard from Arizonans are heartbreaking — and completely unacceptable. The Trump administration has an obligation to deliver these benefits promptly, and right now it is not meeting those obligations.”

The AG’s office is calling out Elon Musk, who led the Department of Government Efficiency and claimed that Social Security is “riddled” with fraud, despite the SSA’s Inspector General stating less than 1% of payments over a seven-year period were improper.

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“Arizonans deserve a Social Security Administration that works — not one hollowed out by misinformation, mismanagement, and neglect,” said Mayes. “I urge the Trump administration to act now and restore lawful, accessible, and appropriate service for the people of Arizona.”

Mayes’ actions come after Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a fellow Democrat, also called out the new anti-fraud checks following a report from NextGov, a news publication that covers technology within the federal government, found only two out of 110,000 were potentially fraudulent.

Last month, CNN reported that the Social Security Administration was pushing back the rollout of the new measure.

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Arizona family demands answers after stolen dog was found dead in Loxley

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Arizona family demands answers after stolen dog was found dead in Loxley


MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – A dog stolen in Arizona was found on the side of a road in Loxley.

Loxley Police said the Australian Shepherd was reported missing from Phoenix in 2023 and was discovered dead off County Road 68 last Thursday.

“At that point, that’s when they had mentioned that they had him and it wasn’t in the way that we had expected,” said the dog’s owner Aubrey Garcia. “They had said that he had been found tied up on the side of a dirt road, and he had his mouth bound, and he was deceased.”

It was the worst news possible for Aubrey Garcia. A phone call from 1700 miles away delivered devastation. The Phoenix, Arizona woman heard what happened to Kiyo, her missing Australian Shepherd from a Loxley Police officer. The details were very disturbing.

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Investigators said Kiyo had noticeable trauma to his body and a rope tied around his mouth.

“It’s like 1700 miles straight down the I-10,” said Garcia. “I mean when I looked it up, I was like Loxley…I never heard of Loxley, Alabama.”

Garcia said what happened to Kiyo was her worst nightmare after searching for him for almost two years. She said she will never forget the day he disappeared from their backyard.

“I went out into the backyard after cleaning out his box and realizing that only two of my dogs were home and panic set in very, very quickly,” she said.

Garcia said her family frantically searched the neighborhood for hours, but it wasn’t until a few days later when someone in the area reported seeing what looked to be Kiyo taken by someone in a black SUV. She said ring camera footage didn’t give them the answer they were looking for.

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“We just couldn’t get a clear shot of the vehicle at the time because it was it was 10:30 at night at this point four-door black car couldn’t make out make a model,” she said. “All they could all they could see is that it was in a really beat-up condition and that’s really what we had to go off of.”

Loxley Police said a witness reported seeing a four door sedan in the area where Kiyo was found on Thursday. While detectives continue investigating, Garcia has a message for the person responsible for Kiyo’s death.

“You deserve everything, everything that’s going to happen if you’re caught because you had every opportunity for you to do the right thing and return him when we gave so many outlets to return him anonymously,” she said. “You could’ve left him to the side of that dirt road without his mouth being bound and maybe he would’ve made it home.”

Garcia said Kiyo’s remains will be cremated and sent back to Phoenix. Loxley Police are asking anyone with any information about what happened to Kiyo to come forward.

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Why Arizona State Football is ‘America’s Team’

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Why Arizona State Football is ‘America’s Team’


Fans of the Arizona State football program have spent much of the last three decades on an emotional roller coaster. 

The continued patience is seemingly paying off in the present day. 

The program has built up unbelievable momentum less than three years removed from the Herm Edwards era – and people are noticing in the best terms possible.

Josh Pate of CBS Sports took to his podcast earlier in the week to touch on a wide variety of college football topics – including heavily praising Arizona State.

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Pate was asked who “America’s team” is by a listener who cited his ongoing opinion that the Big 12 is ‘America’s conference’  – his response? 

Arizona State. 

“Yes. They’re in the Big 12. It’s Arizona State.”

“Number one, it’s not an SEC or Big Ten team. Not only is it not a power two program, it’s not Clemson or Notre Dame, or like Miami, but the program was left for dead.”

“I want to remind people that it’s not all that long ago that Herm Edwards was the head coach there and the program was going nowhere fast and then you’ve got the sanctions and you’ve got the firings and the program just spiraled into the desert and if you looked at it at the time you would have thought it’s going to be a decade before we ever hear anything about Arizona State football again.”

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Pate then went on to heap praise onto head coach Kenny Dillingham, citing his passion for the program, overall loyalty, and overall likability as all the more reason that the Sun Devil football program is his answer when it comes to the ‘America’s team’ discussion.

Dillingham has undoubtedly cast a substantial amount of likability around the Arizona State program – his players respond well to his coaching, he has chosen a staff that works extremely well together, and his infectious energy has reflected in a resurgence in fan interest. 

The nation is beginning to catch on as well – as the near-upset over Texas in the Peach Bowl on New Year’s Day captivated viewers in what was one of the most watched games of the 2024 season. 

The bottom line? Arizona State is everything that is right with the modern landscape of college football. 

The program boasts a loyal fanbase. The roster is hungry and generally likable. Dillingham exhibits equal parts professionalism and passion. 

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Lastly, they are quickly becoming the class of a conference that doesn’t carry the same baggage as the SEC or Big 10.

The future is bright in Tempe.

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