News/Events

Owners must turn over vehicle titles and pay a $10,000 fine

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has reached a settlement with Jacksonville-based Miracle Motors, Corp. and its owners for advertising the sale of used vehicles and failing to provide the vehicle title on the vehicle to Arkansas purchasers.

“Miracle Motors and its owners will be paying for the harms they caused by knowingly deceiving Arkansans,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “Illegal business practices that take advantage of our citizens will not be tolerated.”

Rutledge filed a lawsuit against Miracle Motors in January 2016 and stated that on numerous occasions the dealership advertised vehicles it did not own for sale, sold the vehicles to Arkansas consumers, accepted payment and failed to deliver the vehicle title in a timely fashion. The owners of Miracle Motors deceived consumers by misrepresenting the ability to convey titles to purchasers at the point of sale. These actions violated the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Used Motor Vehicle Buyer Protection Act.

Consumers cannot prove ownership without a title, leading to other potential problems and putting Arkansans at great risk.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Miracle Motors will provide customers with their vehicle titles, or, upon request by the customers, void the transaction and provide a full refund of the purchase price and return the consumer’s trade-in. Miracle motors will also reimburse the customers for any out-of-pocket expenses associated with attempting to register the vehicle without a title.

Miracle Motors and its owners must also pay a $10,000 fine to the Consumer Education and Enforcement Fund.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge today participated in a discussion with President Donald J. Trump on the dangers of sanctuary jurisdictions and the importance of federal law enforcement efforts in combatting illegal immigration.

“As Arkansas’s chief legal officer, it was an honor to bring Arkansas’s voice to the table to share with President Trump the urgent need to protect our communities from radical sanctuary policies,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “Unfortunately, the dangers of sanctuary cities and states do not stop at their borders – every Arkansan and American community is less safe because of unlawful actions taken by dangerous officials implementing their own radical agendas. These policies not only invite crime but encourage unconstitutional chaos by challenging the rule of law and pitting local and federal law enforcement agencies against each other. America is the ultimate sanctuary and we cannot allow our country to become a cesspool where illegal alien criminals can hide among our masses.”

Rutledge’s top priority as attorney general is keeping Arkansas’s law enforcement officers, communities and citizens safe. Sanctuary cities and states are a direct threat to Arkansans because they provide a safe haven for criminals and allow them to easily travel throughout the country. These policies also set a dangerous precedent allowing state and local entities to simply select which laws they will uphold.

Rutledge appeared at today’s meeting with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Pat Toomey (R-PA), Congressmen Michael McCaul (R-TX), Martha McSally (R-AZ) and Mark Meadows (R-NC), Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, ICE acting Director Tom Homan, Sacramento Sheriff Scott Jones, Gwinnett County (Ga.) Sheriff Butch Conway, Fort Collins Sheriff Justin Smith, Chicago Police Officer Kevin Graham, Fraternal Order of Police President Chuck Canterbury and Mary Ann Mendoza, whose son was killed by an undocumented immigrant.

Says, ‘If this ruling stands, it would set a dangerous precedent for communities across Arkansas’

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has joined a 13-state coalition supporting the State of Indiana’s capability to require local municipalities to comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer requests.

According to Attorney General Rutledge and her colleagues, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana granted a consent decree from Marion County, Indiana which exempted the county from part of Indiana law, allowing the county to do what it preferred rather than complying with state law.

“In this case the court is not only encouraging municipalities to ignore state laws, but helping them actually break state laws they do not agree with,” Rutledge said. “If this ruling stands, it would set a dangerous precedent for communities across Arkansas and the entire country by disturbing the rule of law and discouraging cooperation with federal immigration officials.”

States that filed the brief include attorneys general from Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia, and governors from Kentucky and Maine.