Moving scam targets Arizona State student's family

TEMPE, AZ - An Arizona State University student’s family found themselves caught up in what they call a moving company scam.

“They held us hostage,” said the student’s father Mike Lautner.

Lautner helped his daughter move to Tempe from Atlanta for grad school.

He said he made a deal with a moving company for an initial quote of $1,700. But that company contracted with a second company, which contracted with a third.

By the time the items made it to Arizona, the driver told Lautner he would need $2,800.

“They gave me a bank account and said, ‘Wire me the money or else you won’t get the stuff back,’” Lautner said.

He did wire the money and then called the authorities.

Lautner said the Arizona Department of Transportation helped him track down his belongings to two different trucks.

But a few of the most expensive items like a flat screen TV mysteriously turned up at a warehouse in Laveen.

“If you think you are being scammed, call authorities and trust the system will work,” Lautner said.

The move still cost him $2,400, but he said he at least got most of his stuff back, even if the move was a little longer than it should have been.

ABC15 is not mentioning the name of the moving company until it officially comes from the Arizona Department of Transportation.