Arizona

Used Farm Equipment Swindle Alert: BBB Warns Virtual Vendor Vehicle Scams on the Rise

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 16:49:31 GMT

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is warning used equipment buyers nationwide about another sophisticated scam involving used farm equipment.

This particular grift, according to a press release from BBB, involved a fake online heavy equipment retailer impersonating a legitimate Missouri dealership, Cook Equipment & Trucking (Marble Hill, Mo.).

Buyers from across the U.S., some even from as far away as California and Arizona, reported losing a total of $223,000 after attempting to purchase heavy equipment and farm machinery through fraudulent websites and Facebook Marketplace ads.

Related: Essential Advice for Safely Buying Used Farm Machinery

Victims say they were “ghosted” after wiring money for equipment that never arrived. The BBB does not say whether the victims were able to dispute the fraudulent charges and claw back the proceeds from the scammers.

The reported fraudulent transactions include:

$45,000 for a skid steer loader from a buyer in Oak Hills, Calif.
$32,000 for an excavator from a buyer in Hancock, Mich.
$29,500 for a trailer from a buyer in Amanda, Ohio
$29,000 for a trailer from a buyer in Greenville, N.C.
$28,000 for a skid steer loader from a buyer in Eastman, Wis.
$31,000 for an excavator from a buyer in Des Moines, Iowa.
$29,000 for a skid steer from a buyer in Blue, Ariz.

BBB says the real Cook Equipment & Trucking, a small business operating since 2010, confirmed it has no website and is not affiliated with any online sales. The impersonators registered three fake websites, the most recent on July 14, and continue to run deceptive ads on social media.

“Those shopping for heavy equipment and farm machinery online should do their due diligence so they don’t fall victim to a virtual vehicle vendor scam,” says Michelle L. Corey, president and CEO, BBB St. Louis. “If an item is priced well below market value, that’s a red flag.”

To avoid getting swept up in an online virtual vehicle vendor scam the Better Business Bureau offers these tips:

Research the business at bbb.org or call 888-996-3887
Be skeptical of deals that seem too good to be true
Verify the website and contact the business directly
Read all terms and understand refund policies
Use a credit card for added protection
Report scams to BBB Scam Tracker, your state attorney general, the FTC, and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center , and notify the social media platform where the fraud was discovered

To learn more about how to avoid online fraud in the used equipment auction world, check out BBB’s 2024 study on virtual vehicle vendor scams.

Your next read: U.S.-Canada Trade Spat Leaves Farmer’s New Holland Combine Stranded Up North

Mistrial Declared in Arizona Rancher’s Murder Trial

Wed, 24 Apr 2024 13:13:34 GMT

An Arizona judge declared a mistrial in the murder case of rancher George Alan Kelly, 75, who was accused of fatally shooting a migrant on his property near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink said the decision was made after jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision after two full days of deliberation.

Following the declaration, Kelly’s defense attorney Kathy Lowthorp revealed outside the courthouse to the media that there had only been one guilty juror in the group, which was why the defense team pushed for deliberations to continue.

“There was one hold out for guilty, the rest were not guilty. So seven not guilty, one guilty,” Lowthorp stated. “We believe in our gut that there was no way the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Kelly had faced second-degree murder in the Jan. 30, 2023, shooting of Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, 48, who lived just south of the border in Nogales, Mexico. Kelly had earlier rejected an agreement with prosecutors that would have reduced the charge to one count of negligent homicide if he pleaded guilty.

“It is what it is, and it will be what it will be. Let me go home, okay? That alright with y’all?” Kelly told reporters outside the courthouse following the mistrial. “I will keep fighting forever. I won’t stop.”

Judge Fink had told jurors that if they could not reach a verdict on the second-degree murder charge, they could try for a unanimous decision on a lesser charge of reckless manslaughter or negligent homicide.

The Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office can still decide whether to retry Kelly for any charge or drop the case all together.

A status hearing was scheduled for next Monday afternoon, when prosecutors could inform the judge if they plan to refile the case.

Related:

Arizona Rancher Rejects Plea Deal in Death of Migrant

Arizona Border Rancher Accused of Killing Migrant, Now Held With $1 Million Bond

AZ Rancher Faces New Charges in Death of Migrant, Defense Argues Investigation Mishandled and Law Enforcement Lit Powder Keg

Wed, 01 Mar 2023 18:37:32 GMT

Attorneys on Wednesday argued conflicting accounts of how a Mexican national came to be killed on an Arizona borderlands ranch. The state argues that the migrant died at the hands of rancher George Alan Kelly, and that Kelly also fired at other migrants on Jan. 30.

Defense attorney Brenna Larkin, however, argued that Kelly only fired warning shots and that the state arrested Kelly before investigating the circumstances leading to the incident. Further, Larkin said, her client was charged with first degree murder without any forensic, ballistic, fingerprint or other evidence.

Kelly, 73, faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of Gabriel Cuen-Butimea, who lived just south of the border in Nogales, Mexico. U.S. federal court records show Cuen-Butimea was convicted of illegal entry and deported back to Mexico several times, most recently in 2016.

Kelly has been held on a $1 million cash bond since his arrest, and Wednesday’s hearing was to determine if that should remain in place. Larkin argued her client was not a flight risk and that the $1 million cash bond was excessive. She argued for a reduction to $250,000 and to a surety bond rather than cash, which would allow Kelly to put up his ranch and home rather than come up with cash and allow him to leave custody while the case plays out.

Justice of the Peace Emilio G. Velasquez ordered that Kelly’s bond be changed from a cash to a surety bond, but left the $1 million price tag in place.

Kelly, who has no prior criminal record, was led into the court room in handcuffs and shackles to hear additional charges had been filed against him. Law enforcement claims two witnesses came forward leading authorities to amend the complaint against Kelly to include two counts of aggravated assault “using a rifle, a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument” in a shooting at his ranch outside Nogales, Arizona.

Deputy Santa Cruz County Attorney Kimberly Hunley maintained Wednesday that the rancher shot an “unarmed” man in the back “in an unprovoked attack as he ran for his life” more than 100 yards from Kelly’s residence. The government also argues two others who were with the deceased victim as he fled were also shot at but “luckily escaped with their lives.”

Kelly’s attorney, however, claims law enforcement mishandled the probe and that witnesses, identified by the court only with initials at this point, came forward after the investigation was “compromised by publicity,” and may be unreliable. Through that alleged mishandling of the investigation, the attorney said, Santa Cruz County law enforcement “lit a match over a very intense political powder keg” and “predictably, there was an explosion.”

Defense attorney Larkin also challenged the testimony of the witnesses.

“There’s a very large incentive structure for people to come forward and to have claimed to have been witnesses. People can possibly obtain immigration benefits for doing so, or at least have the expectation of that, and people can succumb to pressure from traffickers who have an interest in blaming this event on Mr. Kelly,” Larkin said.

“Testimony is something that is bought and sold by drug traffickers the same way that drugs and people are bought and sold,” she added. “It is a valuable commodity, and it is used by these traffickers to obtain what they want. In this case, the benefit they’re getting is security for their smuggling route through Mr. Kelly’s property, and they’re sending a message to anybody else defending his or her own property that if you defend your property against us, you will be arrested and there will be witnesses who come to stand against you.”

Velasquez set a probable cause hearing for 9 a.m. MT (11 a.m. ET) Friday (Feb. 24) in Santa Cruz County Justice Court.

GiveSendGo, which describes itself as a Christian fundraising platform, carries at least four campaigns collecting money for Kelly’s legal defense, including one that gathered more than $300,000 as of Wednesday.

Arizona Border Rancher Accused of Killing Migrant, Now Held With $1 Million Bond

Wed, 15 Feb 2023 20:02:26 GMT

An Arizona rancher has been arrested in connection with the death of a Mexican national who was shot and killed on the rancher’s property, literally yards north of the Mexican border.

George Alan Kelly, 73, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Gabriel Cuen-Butimea, 48, from Nogales, Mexico. Authorities say Cuen-Butimea was shot Jan. 30 in a remote desert area near Kino Springs, a tiny hamlet in Santa Cruz County. Kelly is being held on a $1 million bond.

Law enforcement have not divulged a motive for the shooting, and details remain sketchy. The incident, however, could develop into a powder keg and further escalate the tense political issue regarding the U.S.-Mexican border.

Here’s what we know. Kelly lives with his wife on their ranch – Vermilion Mountain Ranch – and routinely see migrant trespassers. The couple have reported they fear members of the drug cartels and their heavily armed soldiers trafficking people and drugs.

On the day of the shooting, a sheriff’s dispatch reported a call at around 2:40 p.m. from U.S. Border Patrol about a “possible active shooter” in the area of Sagebrush Road, which is Kelly’s address. CBP apparently received a report from a witness about a “group of people running” and said he was “unsure if he was getting shot at as well.”

At around 5:50 p.m. on the day of the shooting, sheriff’s deputies received another report of shots fired at the property. By 6:42 p.m. they recovered Cuen-Butimea’s body. Authorities have said there was no weapon on the victim at the time, and investigators had collected two assault-style rifles from Kelly’s property in the aftermath to determine whether either was used in the shooting.

Cuen-Butimea was identified by authorities from his Mexican voter card, and his body was found approximately 150 yards from Kelly’s home. News outlets have reported U.S. federal court records “show Cuen-Butimea has had a history of illegal border crossings and deportations in and around Nogales, with the most recent documented case in 2016.”

While an investigation into the shooting is ongoing, officials have said they don’t have a clear motive and that they don’t think Kelly and Cuen-Butimea knew each other.

Under Arizona law, deadly force is allowed on one’s own property if the homeowner believes it “immediately necessary” to prevent trespassing. Other statutes — known as the “stand your ground” laws — also defend the use of physical or deadly force when a homeowner fears a threat and believes force is necessary.

At a preliminary hearing Jan. 31, Kelly asked a judge to reduce his bond so he could help his wife.

“She’s there by herself … nobody to take care of her, the livestock, nor the ranch. And I’m not going anywhere. I can’t come up with a million dollars.”

A GoFundMe account was established to help with Kelly’s legal fees, but the account was quickly taken down, FOX News Digital reports.

“GoFundMe’s Terms of Service explicitly prohibit campaigns that raise money to cover the legal defense of anyone formally charged with an alleged violent crime. Consistent with this long-standing policy, any fundraising campaigns for the legal defense of someone charged with murder are removed from our platform,” a spokesperson for GoFundMe said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Donors who contributed to the fundraising campaigns for George Alan Kelly’s legal expenses have been fully refunded.”

An active fundraiser for Kelly remains on the Christian crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo which had raised over $16,000 on Friday morning.

“Neighbors say that he had been having difficulty keeping invaders out and say that Mr. Kelly would have acted in good faith,” the fundraiser’s organizer, Shannon Pritchard, wrote. “It is a tragedy that a simple farmer, who should be protected by the government, has been abandoned and had to defend himself.”

Feds: Arizona Farm Kept Workers in Squalor, Didn't Fully Pay

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 05:17:22 GMT

The federal government says an Arizona farm has kept temporary Mexican workers in squalid conditions and paid some of them only a fraction of what they are owed.

The Department of Labor filed a lawsuit against G Farms in El Mirage, located just northwest of Phoenix, last week. A judge was scheduled to hear arguments on Tuesday.

The department says that G Farms housed about 70 workers here on a visa in a dangerous and unsanitary encampment composed of school buses, semitrailers, a cargo container and an open-air shed.

An attorney for G Farms said the allegations were overblown and inaccurate and that the farm has already placed workers in a hotel and apartments. Attorney Rick Mahrle said he wouldn’t be arguing against a government request for a temporary restraining order and that the farm would comply with all regulations.

“There’s been no intention here of ever violating any regulations or doing anything that harms these people who come and harvest the crops here in Arizona,” Mahrle said.

According to court documents, the farm crammed 10 workers into each school bus to sleep in. The rear exits of the buses were blocked by a mobile air conditioner, creating a safety risk. The documents state the air conditioner only blew hot air.

An investigator with the department also found that the shower facilities were filthy and trash-ridden and that an electrical cord used to supply lighting inside ran through the shower area and was exposed to standing water, which could result in electrocution.

The workers from Sinaloa, Mexico, arrived in late April to harvest onions. They’re paid between 13 cents and 17 cents per bag of onions they pick, which Mahrle said usually results in more than the $10.95 per hour they’re supposed to be paid. The farm doesn’t track employee hours, but investigators say they work 45 to 50 hours a week.

The department says some of the workers weren’t paid what they were owed, which Mahrle said happened in only a small number of cases and that the farm is providing back pay.

Mahrle has also denied allegations from the government that workers were threatened against cooperating with investigators. “We simply did not do that, ever. We are not intimidating anybody or telling them they can’t talk to the investigator,” he said.

Marhle said most of the workers are now in apartments, and some are in a hotel while the farm finds more units.