The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) recently featured a success story about a customer who could finally register their vehicle and legally navigate the roads of Arizona, thanks to the intervention of ADOT's Office of Inspector General. The customer had purchased the vehicle in February 2024 from a used car dealership, but ran into issues when the dealership failed to provide the title, as reported by ADOT.
According to the complaint filed on October 29, the dealer had offered only one solution: obtain a bonded title for the vehicle. Detectives involved in the investigation discovered that the dealership had sold the vehicle unlawfully without having possession of the title, a violation of state law. Subsequent enforcement actions against the dealer may include serious repercussions such as cease and desist orders, criminal citations, and possibly the termination of dealer licenses.
Digging further into the vehicle's history, detectives unearthed that it was previously traded to the dealer from out of state with a lienholder from a defunct company. They managed to acquire a special lien release affidavit, which paved the way for an Arizona title to be issued on December 9. "It is a wonderful feeling to not only address the violation and potentially prevent similar infractions, but to also help a constituent resolve their title issue and get them safely back on the road," Lieutenant Jason Henderson of ADOT’s Office of Inspector General told ADOT. A cease and desist warning was also issued to the dealership, which was ordered to take corrective action and avoid future violations.
ADOT’s commitment to enforcing compliance and rectifying such issues is clear with their 24-hour Fraud Hotline available for reporting fraudulent activity related to driver's licenses, titles, and registrations. Concerned citizens and customers can report suspicions via phone at 877.712.2370, email to [email protected], or through an online report at azdot.gov/incident-report.
