The New Mexico Tax and Revenue Department is warning home and property owners about a scam involving fraudulent demand letters.
SANTA FE, N.M. — The New Mexico Tax and Revenue Department is warning home and property owners about a scam involving fraudulent letters.
Officials say they’ve received reports about these letters going out to owners who are delinquent on their taxes. The letters demand owners call a 1-800 number by a certain date. Or else, they say, the state will seize their property.
Officials say they are not from the state Taxation and Revenue Department. However, Ira Pearson, the director of the department’s property division, says they look pretty convincing.
“It does look like an official document. It comes out and, if you’re a property owner, obviously you receive this and you’re scared someone’s gonna come seize your property. That is not coming from the State of New Mexico. Or any type of government entity,” Pearson said.
They say anyone with an outstanding property tax debt should reach out to the treasurer’s office in the county where their property is located. They also recommend reaching out to the department at 505-827-0883. That’s only if the debt is three or more years past due and was turned over to the state for collection.
“We will walk them through the process of getting their delinquent property tax paid,” Pearson said.
So far, only one person in Valencia County has received the letter. However, Pearson says it’s likely not the only one out there.
“I would imagine if it went to one it went to many of them,” Pearson said.
Property scams are common but this one is different, Pearson says.
“This was talking about actually seizing property. Other ones that we’ve seen, talk about helping them set up payment plans. They talk about walking them through the process or advising them,” Pearson said.
If you believe you’ve encountered fraudulent activity, reach out to the department’s fraud hotline at 1-866-457-6789. You can also email the department at Tax.Fraud@tax.nm.gov.
Police are searching for a missing 10-month-old girl believed to have been kidnapped by the same person who fatally shot two women and critically wounded a 5-year-old girl in Clovis, New Mexico.
An Amber Alert was issued for the baby, Eleia Maria Torres, on Friday as cops sought the killer of Samantha Cisneros and Taryn Allen, both age 23 and from Texico, N.M.
Clovis Police Department
Amber Alert for Eleia Maria Torres. (Clovis Police Department)
A 911 call at about 4:30 p.m. Friday alerted police to the presence of the two bodies in Ned Houk Park, about five miles north of the 38,000-population city of Clovis. They found the two women dead of gunshot wounds and a 5-year-old child covered in blood, with a gunshot wound to the head. All of them were sprawled on the ground near a minivan. The girl was rushed to a hospital in Lubbock, Texas, about 100 miles southeast.
Police also discovered an infant car seat inside the van, along with an infant stroller and a small baby bottle at the scene.
“Through interviews with family members, investigators learned Samantha Cisneros was the mother to the young female child found at the scene and was also the mother to a 10-month-old child, Eleia Maria Torres,” police said in a statement. “Investigators believe Eleia Maria Torres has been abducted by the perpetrator of this crime and is in immediate danger.”
Police described Eleia as 28 inches tall and weighing 23 pounds, with brown eyes and hair.
“There is currently no suspect in this incident,” New Mexico State Police said. “However, it is suspected the suspect was in a possible maroon Honda car, unknown model.”
With News Wire Services
New Mexico police issued an Amber Alert Sunday for missing a 10-month-old baby. The incident was part of a deadly shooting and suspects remain at large. Photo courtesy of Clovis Police Department.
May 5 (UPI) — Police in rural New Mexico continued to search for a missing 10-month-old girl Sunday after officials said the infant was abducted amid a mass shooting on Friday in the town of Clovis.
Authorities issued an Amber Alert for the missing child Eleia Maria Torres, on Friday, and it was still active as of Sunday morning.
Police in Clovis said the baby went missing when two women were found dead with apparent gunshot wounds. The dead women included the child’s mother. The relationship of the other woman was not immediately known.
The mother’s 5-year-old child was also shot and suffered a head injury. She was treated locally and then transported to a regional hospital in Lubbock, Texas, where officials said she is recovering.
“It is with a heavy heart that I stand before you today to address the tragic incident that unfolded at Ned Houk Park on Friday,” Deputy Chief of Clovis Police Trevor Thron said during an update Sunday, providing as many details as he could about on the missing infant and the suspect, or suspects, who remain at large.
The missing baby has brown eyes and brown hair, measures 28 inches tall and weighs 23 pounds, according to officials.
“Our hearts are with the victim and her family during this incredibly difficult time,” Thron said. “And we fervently hope for swift and complete recovery.”
Thron reported the suspect’s identity remains unknown as do the motives for the shootings. Thron said the suspect may have been in a maroon Honda. He said Sunday that investigators found a small piece of maroon debris at the scene but that “we cannot be certain if it was part of the incident.
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