THERE )S A REASON IT )S THE BUTT OF SO MANY JOKES. FOR NEW MEXICANS IN ONE PART OF THE STATE, IT WASN )T JUST A HASSLE, THEY WERE GETTING TAKEN FOR A RIDE. ON SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT, NEWS 13 )S LYSEE MITRI UNCOVERS WHAT WORKERS ARE ACCUSED OF DOING WITH CUSTOMERS ) MONEY. ...NATS medium train... WORD TRAVELS FAST... ...NATS cu see end of train... IN FORT SUMNER -- A VILLAGE ABOUT 60 MILES WEST OF CLOVIS. PEOPLE (KNEW SOMETHING.. WASN )T RIGHT. ...Belinda Sursa "I don )t know what happened but it was a mess"... ...Brenda Crocker "I have no doubt that I was ripped off"... ...NATS semi drives by... TWO CITY WORKERS LANDED BEHIND BARS... ...NATS jail cell closing... CHARGED WITH EMBEZZLING MORE THAN 40-THOUSAND DOLLARS FROM THE VERY PEOPLE THEY WERE HIRED TO SERVE. ...Chief Pete Kassetas, NM State Police "Ultimately the law caught up with them"... IT TOOK MORE THAN A YEAR. ...Chief Pete Kassetas, NM State Police "It did take time to get there, ( ( (SUPER/PETE ( ( ( and I understand that. It took a little over a year because there were so many records to go through."... IN THAT TIME, RESIDENTS, LIKE BRENDA CROCKER, SAY THEY WERE LEFT IN THE DARK. ...Brenda Crocker "shrugs They refuse to discuss anything with us as victims. they refuse to help us make anything right 9:52 they won )t even inform us"... THAT )S WHAT CROCKER TOLD NEWS 13 IN DECEMBER, JUST BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS -- CONCERNS EVEN THE MAYOR ECHOED WHEN WE STOPPED BY HIS OFFICE. ...Mayor Justin Ingram, Fort Sumner "For a year now we have gotten no more than... it )s coming 49:50 49:52 we don )t know what "it" is 49:54"... ...Lysee Mitri "The first sign of trouble came in december 2016. ( ( (SUPER/LYSEE ( ( ( The fort sumner MVD office at city hall closed unexpectedly after the village called state police about odd transactions."... POLICE LAUNCHED AN INVESTIGATION. MEANWHILE... ...Belinda Sursa "To even get your driver )s license you gotta take all your paperwork and go to melrose or santa rosa"... ...Brenda Crocker "Most of us are going to Clovis, which is a 60-mile drive one way. You )re getting a number and waiting in line all day."... WHAT )S WORSE ... WHEN THEY (DID MAKE THE DRIVE, THEY RAN INTO (MORE PROBLEMS. BELINDA SURSA SAYS SHE SOLD HER TRUCK TO A FRIEND.... WHO PAID FOR THE TITLE AND REGISTRATION MORE THAN A YEAR AGO. ...Belinda Sursa "But when she goes over this year to renew )em, it still belongs to me!"... CROCKER GOT A SIMILAR RESPONSE ...Brenda walking toward car "yup"... WHEN SHE TRIED TO RENEW THE REGISTRATION ON A CAR SHE BOUGHT FOR HER DAUGHTER. ...Brenda Crocker "I was informed this car doesn )t even belong to you. The tags are bogus, the title )s bogus, the registration )s bogus"... WHICH CAME AS A SHOCK... SINCE SHE HAD PAID 265 DOLLARS FOR IT ALL AT THE FORT SUMNER M-V-D BACK IN 20-15. AT THE TIME... VILLAGE EMPLOYEE ALISHA SEGURA WORKED THERE. IN 20-16... TIANNA GALLEGOS JOINED HER. A STATE POLICE INVESTIGATION (NOW REVEALS BOTH WOMEN ADMITTED TO STEALING FROM PEOPLE... VOIDING TRANSACTIONS FOR REGISTRATIONS AND TITLES WHEN CUSTOMERS PAID IN CASH... AND POCKETING THE MONEY INSTEAD. ...Chief Pete Kassetas, NM State Police "They saw an opening. they took it and not realizing that there )s ramifications for that"... SEGURA )S CHARGED WITH EMBEZZLING MORE THAN 32-THOUSAND DOLLARS... GALLEGOS 9- THOUSAND. INVESTIGATORS SAY THE WOMEN TARGETED ABOUT 200 PEOPLE... AFFECTING 550 TRANSACTIONS OVER THE SPAN OF ABOUT A YEAR. WHILE FORT SUMNER (EMPLOYED THE WOMEN... THE (STATE IS IN CHARGE OF TRAINING THEM TO CONDUCT STATE BUSINESS AT THE VILLAGE-RUN MVD OFFICE. ...Lysee: MVD gopro INT tc 21:19 so what kind of oversight does MVD have over these offices? ( ( (SUPER/BEN ( ( ( Ben Cloutier: So in the past obviously some of these things were slipping through the cracks. now we have a new computer system in place where we do basically daily audits of our transactions"... BEN CLOUTIER IS THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE STATE )S TAXATION AND REVENUE DEPARTMENT... WHICH OVERSEES THE M-V-D. HE SAYS THE NEW SYSTEM REQUIRES A MANAGER SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE STATE TO LOOK FOR MISTAKES AND WRONGDOING... IN HOPES OF CATCHING PROBLEMS SOONER. ...Brenda "This is the one that they )ve got us now"... BUT CROCKER SAYS SHE )S STILL STRUGGLING TO GET THE M-V-D TO CORRECT THE PROBLEMS THIS (LATEST CRIME (CAUSED. ...Brenda Crocker "I want a good title. A title that I can actually do something with the car"... ...Lysee Mitri "This isn )t the car trouble Crocker expected."... ...NATS put hood up... ...Lysee Mitri "When she first bought it two years ago"... ...Lysee Mitri "Since then she says she )s had to get three titles, two within about a week of each other"... ...NATS flipping through papers-cu hand/papers... AND SHE SAYS, IT )S (STILL WRONG: ...Brenda Crocker "the date of issue."... THE ORGINAL TITLE SHOWS THE 2006 FORD MUSTANG WAS FIRST REGISTERED IN 2006 -- MAKES SENSE. BUT SHE SAYS SINCE THE CITY WORKER (VOIDED THAT TITLE... REPLACEMENTS HAVE BEEN RIDDLED WITH MISTAKES... LIKE THE MOST RECENT -- WHICH NOW STATES HER 2006 CAR WAS (NEVER REGISTERED UNTIL JUST LAST YEAR. ...Brenda Crocker "I do have a problem with it because if we went to sell it and left any papers or anything that showed that we had insurance on it prior to the purchase date, it )s gonna make it look like an iffy car"... ...Ben Cloutier, Tax & Rev spokesperson "We )re gonna work with every customer that was affected by these individuals to make them whole :18 and we )re happy to work with those customers that need help, assistance. 1:43:23 we have a hotline available"... ...nats... THE HOTLINE HE REFERRED US TO IS THE M-V-D )S STANDARD CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE. ...thank you for calling the state of new mexico )s motor vehicle division... CROCKER SAYS AFTER HALF AN HOUR ON THE PHONE LAST WEEK... THE PERSON ON THE OTHER LINE DIDN )T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE PROBLEM IN FORT SUMNER... AND TOLD HER SHE HAD TO MAKE (ANOTHER TRIP TO HER NEAREST M-V-D OFFICE... ...NATS gets in, closes door... WHICH, AS WE )VE MENTIONED... ...NATS drive away in car... IS PRETTY FAR AWAY. ...MVD gopro INT tc 16:39 Lysee: It )s been over a year that they haven )t had an mvd office there. gopro tc 16:43 what would you like to say to people who are frustrated about that? Ben: We absolutely understand your frustration."... HE SAYS THE STATE IS WORKING WITH DE BACA COUNTY -- AND NOT FORT SUMNER -- TO OPEN A NEW OFFICE IN THE VILLAGE. THAT ANNOUNCEMENT... AND NEWS OF THE ARRESTS HAVE VICTIMS HOPEFUL THEY )RE AT LEAST (ON THE ROAD ... TO JUSTICE NOW. ON SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT, LYSEE MITRI, KRQE NEWS 13. THE VILLAGE LET ONE OF THE TWO SUSPECTS GO AFTER THE INVESTIGATION STARTED BECAUSE SHE WAS STILL IN HER PROBATIONARY PERIOD. THE OTHER ONE WAS PUT IN A DIFFERENT ROLE FOR THE PAST YEAR WHERE SHE WOULDN )T BE AROUND MONEY. THE MAYOR DIDN )T THINK HE COULD FIRE HER UNTIL SHE WAS CHARGED. SHE HAS NOW BEEN FIRED. TO READ THE CRIMINAL
