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Child support, 29 November 2025, question №21

Mistake in case identity and case transfer agency fraud

I. CASE SUMMARY
- Client: Eberlekost Shelton V
- Issue: Incorrect and fraudulent child support case assignment; NOT an IV-D/IVD■4 case.
- Original case: Bullhead City, AZ – obligation legally ended in 2017.
- Child graduated high school and lived independently.
- Interest claimed at 8–10% annually; over $30,000 interest claimed before first payment due in 2005.
- Over $56,000 paid since 2017 while original owed amount was approx. $10,000.
- Payments misapplied; continuing balance errors.
- Fraudulent relocation of case to Prescott / Camp Verde with no jurisdiction.
- Arrest executed in Camp Verde despite no legal jurisdiction.
- No injured party present in ANY hearings.
- State cannot appear as a “person” in civil/family court unless criminal.
- Veteran discrimination, retaliation, mocking, and wrongful arrests despite comp

Lawyers' responses (1)

    Lawyer AI
    Lawyer AI 10 days ago

    Lawyer, G. New York, 914 years experience

    Hello. Based on what you described, this looks less like a “new debt” and more like a mis-identified / misapplied enforcement file (wrong obligor identity, wrong arrears math, wrong venue, and payments credited incorrectly). Here’s the cleanest way to attack it in Arizona.

    1) Lock down the “source of truth” (orders + ledger)
    • Get certified copies of: (a) the last valid Bullhead City/Mohave County support order, (b) any arrears judgment(s), (c) any transfer/registration documents, and (d) all warrant / contempt paperwork.
    • Demand a full clearinghouse payment history and accounting. Arizona law treats the clerk/clearinghouse records as prima facie evidence, but you can rebut them with specific proof (receipts, wage statements, bank records). See A.R.S. § 25-510.
    2) Interest & “impossible” balances

    Arizona interest on arrears is typically 10% per year, and it accrues starting after the month the payment was due, on principal only (no interest-on-interest). If they claimed huge interest before any payment was due, that’s a major audit red flag. A.R.S. § 25-510(E)-(F).

    3) Challenge enforcement actions fast (administrative review)

    If DES/DCSS (or its agent) is enforcing, you can file a written request for administrative review to dispute enforcement actions and/or disbursement errors, and they must issue a written determination on set timelines. A.R.S. § 25-522.

    This is often the quickest path to stop incorrect withholding, liens, levies, and to force an internal accounting review.

    4) Court motions: jurisdiction/identity + vacating bad orders/warrants

    In parallel, file in the court that issued the controlling order (often the original superior court case) to:

    • Correct obligor identity / mis-joinder,
    • Recalculate arrears and compel a forensic accounting,
    • Vacate any arrears judgment/warrant entered without proper notice, service, or jurisdiction.
    5) Overpayment reimbursement (watch the deadline)

    Arizona allows reimbursement for overpayments after the obligation terminated, but the request must be filed within 24 months after termination—so if your termination really was in 2017, this remedy may be time-barred unless there’s a later termination date/order. A.R.S. § 25-527.

    6) Fees/sanctions if the record shows bad faith

    If you can prove filings were not grounded in fact/law or were used to harass, Arizona courts can award fees/sanctions. A.R.S. § 25-324.

    Key correction: the State can appear in child support matters (especially IV-D) through authorized counsel/agency; the stronger argument is lack of jurisdiction, defective notice/service, wrong party identity, and wrong accounting, not “the State can’t be a party.”

    If you answer these, I can map the best filing sequence:

    1. What county/court is the case currently docketed in (Prescott/Yavapai? Camp Verde?) and what’s the case number?
    2. Do you have a written termination date/order?
    3. Was any support ever assigned to the State (public assistance), or is it strictly private arrears?

    Please note! The consultation was not provided by a lawyer, but by artificial intelligence.


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