hurricane milton arrives in florida. we are also talking tornadoes on a day that is breaking records. >> i heard a piece of glass crack and sucked the whole roof off, and i felt the thing sucked me up, and i grabbed my kid and my wife and hunkered down. >> that's all they could do. good evening. i'm ama daetz, and i'm dan ashley. >> thanks for joining us. hurricane milton has made landfall in florida as a category three storm. this is a live look tonight at the florida coast, which is getting battered by hurricane milton. this is the dick meissner bridge across tampa bay being buffeted by the winds. and now a live look at key west. this is the southernmost point of florida. the outer bands of the storm started moving in hours ago, bringing high winds, heavy rain and a lot of tornadoes. >> it is one powerful storm. cameras overlooking roadways have been bouncing throughout the day as milton moves in the gusty winds on top of the torrential rains have made for just brutal conditions. president biden warned. while the storm has lost some strength, it remains incredibly dangerous. >> both the heads of the

national hurricane center and the national weather service made it very clear in conversations i've had with them earlier today, milton still carries incredible destructiveness. can wipe out communities, can cause loss of life. >> officials say this could be the most destructive storm in history to hit florida's west central coast and hurricane milton hit florida around 530. >> our time tonight. abc seven news meteorologist sandhya patel is tracking it. sandhya. yeah. ama and dan. it made landfall, as you just mentioned, at 5:30 p.m. near siesta key, florida, which is in sarasota county. it was a category three when it made landfall. let me show you the wider perspective here. they are seeing life threatening storm surge in the area. this is the very latest from the national hurricane center. flash flooding is occurring. they're also seeing extreme winds across this region. looking at live doppler seven, you can see some of the heavier rain moving on shore around the saint petersburg area as well. and a

wider perspective indicating just how much they have seen in terms of storm damage in the area. really, they've had multiple reports of flooding and storm damage, 98 to be precise, of flash flooding, wind damage, tornadoes. it is packing winds of 115 miles an hour. when it made landfall, it was 120 mile an hour winds. it is moving to the east northeast now rapidly expected to weaken to a category one, eventually to a tropical storm tomorrow, and then a depression as it moves out over the open atlantic, 6 to 12in of rain localized up to 18in. the storm surge could be historic up to 13ft, and they still have numerous watches and warnings. in effect, it is going to be a long night ahead. dan. all right. certainly will be. thank you. sandhya. an alameda company is giving us this view of hurricane milton. saildrone operates unmanned watercraft. this video was recorded today on the gulf of mexico with winds of

75mph and 28 foot waves. saildrone is working with noaa to help them better understand hurricanes. >> remarkable images there. well, some of the most powerful video we've seen so far has come out of fort myers, showing an apparent tornado watch. video is from a home surveillance camera. there are plenty of people who decided to evacuate ahead of milton, and some of them arrived in the bay area today. abc seven news reporter suzanne fawn caught up with some of those evacuees. >> marcus vargas of redwood cit, is relieved to be back in california. he's a chef who was in the florida keys helping with the sea scouts program when things started getting pretty hairy because of hurricane milton. >> the people i was working for, they're on high alert. so it's a really it's scary out there

right now. everything is getting pretty serious out there. >> vargas decided to drive to miami and fly back to the golden state. >> it's very stressful. i'm a california boy. i'm used to being out here and hurricanes are new to me. >> but vargas continues to worry about his family and friends. >> my cousin in cocoa beach, my other cousin in west palm, my friends in sarasota and tampa, cape coral and it's just a little bit south of sarasota. >> gigi allen and her family evacuated from cape coral near fort myers. >> we're in cape coral right there. so they're saying it's hitting or about to hit somewhere right in here, because all the local airports were closed. >> they headed to miami to catch a flight to sfo. the allen family used to live in the bay area. after what happened during hurricane helene, they didn't want to take any chances. a coconut tree came down on their home a few weeks ago. so before heading to the bay area, they took some extra measures to protect their home. >> so it's a back sliding glass door with hurricane shutters on it. >> the allen's also reduced the water level of their pool by

about six inches to make room for extra rainwater. meanwhile, bay area rescue teams are heading east. a 26 person ground crew just left with trucks filled with supplies. they're heading to florida to help in the aftermath of the storm. california task force three is an urban search and rescue team based in menlo park that will be helping out san francisco fire department also sent several members, along with four search dogs. >> what these dogs do is they search for people and if they get a hit, they're able to locate a person, and then the use of our teams will go in and breach concrete or lift heavy wooden objects off of someone that may be trapped. >> the red cross says it's already deployed. 70 volunteers from northern california to help with hurricane relief on the east coast. more volunteers could be heading out in the next couple of days. at sfo, suzanne phan abc seven news. >> and we will live stream the latest on hurricane milton on the abc seven bay area app.

that's immediately after abc seven news at 6:00 right here. download our app wherever you stream. >> now to a story you will see only on abc seven news. a string of vandalism targeting the new bart canopies at stations across san francisco. abc seven news anchor dion lim is here with the story. >> dion, take a look. these canopies not only serve a purpose, but also are there for beautification. the vandalism took place along the market street corridor, and nearly every bart rider i spoke with today said the same thing. they're disappointed to see new improvements at four stations. take a step backward. >> i've just taken muni my whole life, so i feel really passionate about it. it just sucks to see someone just destroy the city one after another after another. >> in total, more than a dozen panes of glass spread across four bart station canopies along market in san francisco. smashed. >> i have friends coming into the city and bringing them in kind of having to make them look away. >> reporter the destruction includes not just the cracked

panes, but shattered schedule boards like these at montgomery station, according to bart. it most likely all took place over the weekend. the canopies, according to state law, are required to protect the outdoor escalators. they are part of a $64 million project. work began in 2020 to build 21 canopies and was expected to take seven years. so far, ten have been completed. >> i think it's a shame to know that, you know, the city puts in so much effort and honestly, just to see it get vandalized like that. >> bart officials wouldn't speak on camera wednesday about the smashed canopies. they pointed us to a press release with their latest safety numbers, which they say shows a 15% reduction in overall crime from last august to this august. the shattered canopies, while just broken glass, did not give riders much comfort. >> it should be clean and safe in my opinion and sometimes, yeah, it's disappointing to see. >> amber hasselbring of the nonprofit nature in the city, partnered with bart and the city back in 2021 to bring living

rooftops and butterflies to the market street corridor at montgomery and powell street stations. >> the more activity and attention that is downtown, the less vandalism is likely. so we'd like to see if we can play a part in that nature. >> and the city continues to raise the $200,000 needed for their project. the cost to replace the dozen or so panes of glass, likely in the tens of thousands of dollars so far. bart police have no suspects, and the investigation is ongoing in san francisco. dion lim abc seven news. >> and we're learning more information about san francisco unified school district's plan to close or merge 13 schools as it faces a $400 million budget deficit. abc seven news reporter luz pena is live with us now. and you spoke with parents and the superintendent as these changes appear to be coming? >> yes, dan, today we got more clarity from the superintendent as the school district gears up for the upcoming changes. and just 24 hours after the news broke, we're now seeing parents,

teachers and students protestin, hoping their voices keep their schools open. save our schools. this is how students, parents and teachers from harvey milk elementary school in san francisco are fighting back. can't hear you. their school is one that meets the criteria for closing or merging with another school next year. sfusd is planning to send all the students here to sanchez elementary. >> we feel like our kids are being asked to pay the price for administrative mismanagement for the past several years, and it's not fair. >> we looked into sfusd report to understand why these schools are being threatened. the district based it off several factors, including having 260 students or fewer, and in the case of elementary schools, a low composite score, meaning a calculation of students achievements and facility conditions, among others. based on this, three schools would potentially close. two would become welcoming schools and

eight schools are set to merge. we asked the superintendent to clarify when we talk about mergers, we're talking about when students from one school, the whole student body is able to go to another school. >> so those two schools are merging together. whereas when we have students who are going to multiple schools, we're saying that that school is closing. and that's not a merger. >> we pushed. but if the schools are empty, i mean, wouldn't that be considered more schools closing all the schools on the list are criteria for closing a merger. >> and if they merge with another school they're building, you know, won't be used as a as a k-5 school. but we are looking to still use it to support the district's sfusd superintendent matt wayne said they're not planning to sell the properties, but are looking to make money to help the budget. we do own the land. we are not interested in selling the land that when we do that sell our property, we can only use the money for

facilities upgrades. we are interested in generating revenue from the property. >> in the case of harvey milk elementary, the school district is planning to potentially turn it into an early education center. lee anne francis has taught here for 30 years and is still processing the news. >> sick to my stomach. really? we all do because we feel like it's a gut punch. harvey. >> superintendent matt wayne said they're focused on preventing a state takeover. the district is set to submit a budget report to the state in december to show they're taking action to tackle the $400 million budget deficit. the district is facing over a three year period. in the newsroom. luz pena, abc seven news. >> all right, luce, thanks for walking us through that. you've heard of work life balance, but what about tech life balance? it's hard enough for adults. kids, though, are going to get some help. >> plus, you didn't know what to make of this letter. >> we don't know who it came from. what the intention was, if anything in there was true.

>> seven on your side follows the clues of the wildest case ever. a self-described hacker confessing to a crime. i'm quite harmless, really. and when people ask,

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balance. abc seven news reporter monica madden explains how california is working to protect kids online and build a better bay area. >> california lawmakers continuing the fight to make social media safer for kids. this week, another legal battle against social media giant tiktok. attorney general rob bonta looking to curb so-called manipulative features on the ap. >> they have built a business model centered on exploiting young people's time, attention and well-being. >> the lawsuit says tiktok deceptively claims features like beauty filters, endless scrolling and push notifications are safe for youth. a tiktok spokesperson telling abc news the company strongly disagrees, saying, quote, we're proud of and remain deeply committed to the work we've done to protect teens and will continue to update and improve our product. parents aren't convinced. i feel

like that's one of the challenges. wednesday afternoon, first partner jennifer siebel newsom unveiling a new initiative to help families find what they're calling tech life balance. >> again, from my own bottom of my heart, we've been wanting to do this for a really long time. >> she hosted a roundtable with parents and representatives from big tech companies to talk about how families can better manage their children's online activity. >> this is a public health crisis. >> it's designed to complement legislation her husband signed last september. >> design a path forward together where we each do our part to ensure that we take care of not just california's children, but the world's children. >> social media design features push this information at you. >> senate bill 976, authored by senator nancy skinner, bans social media apps from providing so-called addictive feeds to minors without parental consent. >> the bill it does not limit content, but what it stops is that sending you without your even expressing an interest, things about how to commit

suicide, things about binging and purging, you know, bulimia, all that. >> siebel newsom hopes the family guide will empower parents to find a balance with their kids, while legal battles and laws regulating social media continue to play out in san francisco. monica madden, abc seven news. >> okay, we need to get back to the weather in florida. >> yeah. that's right. hurricane milton now making landfall right across the middle of the state in the tampa area. meteorologist sandhya patel tracking the latest on this powerful storm. sandhya. >> yeah, it was a category three at 5:30 p.m. when it made landfall. this is a live picture from key west, florida, where the waves are just slamming ashore. it did make landfall near siesta key, florida, which is in sarasota county, as a category three. once again. definitely seeing life threatening situation unfolding. per the national hurricane center. wind gusts as high as 100 miles an hour reported at egmont channel. the wet weather

flow station there seeing extreme winds, flash flooding and life threatening storm surge. as you look at live doppler seven. it is going to be a long night ahead for those folk and folks and potentially catastrophic situation. a live view here locally and it's a very different picture. quiet sun and high clouds mixing in. this is from our sky star camera at fisherman's wharf on the skystar wheel, giving us unbelievable views as we check out our temperature change. 14 degree drop in fairfield right now compared to 24 hours ago. everyone is experiencing cooling down eight in livermore. temperatures at this hour in the 60s to 80s. certainly feeling more like autumn today. and here's the deal. we're seeing all those high clouds in association with this first system that is coming in. there's another system that is developing behind it, and that brings us the opportunity for some showers on saturday. right now, seeing a combination of fog and high clouds. as we take a look at the winds, they are onshore, blowing to about 12 in

oakland, 19 in fairfield. here's a look at the headlines tomorrow. a combo of fog and high clouds. friday you'll have that fall feel with near average temperatures and saturday a chance of showers with the best opportunity in the north bay. so let's check out fleet week festivities. a lot happening. obviously already underway friday. looking at mild weather, sunshine and clouds. low 70s saturday. that system will bring an opportunity for some drizzle here in san francisco in the morning after that. breezy, partly cloudy clouds to sun on sunday and upper 60s going hour by hour tonight. those high clouds will continue to stream in through late tonight and tomorrow morning, with some fog down below. and then the clouds will start to move on out of the picture tomorrow night, setting the stage for a little more sunshine going into the following day. your morning temperature is 50. 60s will go with afternoon highs similar to today. low to mid 80s inland. low 60s coast side and a look at what's going to happen on saturday. that second system coming in brings rain to

northern california. the rain line shifts into the northern part of our viewing area, so a few showers in the north bay. it is not a game changer, but be aware that there may be some drizzle right near the coast and in the city. the shower chance remains in the north bay into the afternoon before that system falls apart. in terms of rainfall, nothing measurable in the southern part of our viewing area to about 1800s in santa rosa, a few hundredths elsewhere in the north bay. accuweather seven-day forecast does feature a really nice looking pattern, with autumn like feel. chance of showers on saturday. sunday is a good day to be outside and next week 60s to 80s. >> nice. all right. thank you sandhya. >> well, a school without clean drinking water. that's just part of the problem in eastern contra costa county. fixing it, though, and other issues comes with a cont

to shake up city hall? in nearly ten years as supervisor, mark grew the bureaucracy by authorizing or creating a commission almost every year. he rubber stamped hundreds of millions to homeless nonprofits with zero accountability and orchestrated a pay-to-play scheme that sold out taxpayers to the highest bidder. mark farrell has all the wrong experience for the change we need. why choose a mobile network built for places you'll probably never be... ...instead of for where you are most of the time? xfinity mobile was designed for where you need it most. now xfinity internet customers can buy one line of unlimited and get one free for a year.

ignite tutor program is coming to help 83rd grade students at two high need schools in san jose. undergraduate ignite fellows will lead one on one or small sessions for 30 minutes, 2 to 3 times a week during the school day. >> children who are not reading proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school. for low income latino and african american students if they are not proficient readers by third grade, they are eight times more likely to drop out of high school than proficient readers. >> the teach for america ignite program has led to positive outcomes for 94% of students in partner schools across the country. >> a bond measure on the november ballot could solve a dangerous water problem for the byron union school district. the water well currently used by the excelsior middle school is on the brink of collapse, which has made the water unsafe to drink. now there is bottled water for

students and refill stations around the campus. a new water well will cost upwards of $1 million. that's a huge amount for a small district. measure r on the november ballot would raise $24 million for the district and rural contra costa county to fix the well, and some of the older buildings at the district's three schools. those opposed to measure r are concerned about the millions in debt the district is currently in from a previous bond measure. >> coming up next, a story that began when seven on your side received a mysterious package full of a bay area man's personal information. >> it has his addresses, his social security number, his work history. screenshots from zooms. >> it was surreal. it was surreal for sure. >> seven on your side followed the trail and found who sent us the package and the shock it brought

there consumer problems. but one case brought to seven on your side this year is possibly the wildest of all.

>> it began when a self-described hacker wrote to seven on your side, saying he stole a bay area man's identity to get an online bank loan. >> now, the thief wanted seven on your side to help his victim and expose what he calls weaknesses of online banking. so was any of this true? >> that's the question seven on your side. stephanie sierra has the fascinating story. >> stephanie, this has been months and months of twists and turns, and i'll tell you the contents of this letter are so bizarre. quite frankly, we didn't know what to believe. was it true? was it a prank? but we were left with many clues. and seven on your side tracked them down, discovering a devastating story of crime and betrayal. the mystery began here in the offices of abc seven. seven on your side. when this manila envelope arrived by certified mail addressed to seven on your side. this letter to a bank and inside a copy of a letter addressed to sofi bank from someone claiming to be a hacker named killian rose from nunavut,

canada. the hacker said he used someone else's identity to apply for a loan from sofi and got it easily. >> we didn't know what to make of this letter. >> we don't know who it came from, what the intention was. if anything in there was true. >> the letter said, quote, i was the person who applied for the loan under someone else's name. sujato sorry sujato, but my group has a lot of your data. your good credit makes you an easy target. he went on to boast, the money has been spent donated to social programs around the world. you can't catch me. >> he was basically daring us to find him. >> what really made it seem more serious, though, is that the envelope was just stuffed full of highly detailed, highly sensitive information about this sujato. >> it has his addresses, his social security number, his work history, screenshots from zooms. >> there was a copy of his

driver's license, addresses, phone numbers, bank accounts, and these public records showing sujato works right here at the university of california at berkeley. >> we weren't sure what to make of this. was this really a hacker confessing to a crime, or was somebody pulling a prank on us? did this sujato even exist? >> so we checked the uc berkeley staff directory and sure enough, there he was. sujato a facilities manager on campus since 2009. we called him at work. >> it was surreal. it was surreal, for sure. >> he told us that indeed, sofi bank was insisting he took out a $52,000 personal loan just before christmas last year. he said he never took out any loan and had been disputing it for weeks. >> they said, oh no, there's a personal loan under your name. and i was like, that definitely wasn't me. >> now, on top of worrying about this loan, we showed him this

packet and he realized somebody out there had an awful lot of his personal information. >> pretty understandably, he was shaken up when he saw the packet. >> it was creepy that for sure. the details that is there is mind boggling. i mean, my driver's license are there. all my address that i even forgot the phone numbers that i had. like 20 years ago. screenshot from my zoom call. that was crazy. i mean, we've seen something like this in movies. i mean, that person could literally imposter me to do anything, really. >> he said he'd been a victim in three major data breaches, and now it seemed cyber criminals somewhere in the world had compiled a virtual dossier on him that they could use at any moment. you're helpless. >> even if i move anywhere in the world, my social will still still be the same. and my birth date never changed. and apparently it's out there like a virtual space. i. i don't know how to protect it anymore.

>> so he said he took cover. he closed all of his bank accounts, wiped his cell phone and deleted his email account. he funneled all finances through his wife's accounts. >> because i'm that scared and i don't want to have a bank account until this is resolved. >> a letter said, quote sujato i am sending these statements to a well-known customer advocate in northern california. abc seven on your side. if sofi does not reach out to you, contact abc seven on your side and make your case public. >> we thought this had to be the first time a purported criminal came to seven on your side, asking us to help his victim, sofi bank said it too received the mysterious mailing, but would not say whether it looked into the claims. >> however, sofi stood by its decision, rejecting swease dispute. sofi tells seven on your side, we conducted a thorough investigation into mr. hurtado's claim of fraudulent activity when he first contacted

us regarding his concerns and throughout each conversation our team has had with him since then. treating this instance as we treat all claims of fraudulent activity with the utmost seriousness and a genuine sense of urgency, and we stand by our initial response to mr. hado, who we've reconfirmed was not the victim of identity theft. or third party fraud, sofi continued to demand he start making loan payments of $2,400 per month. it also sent him this debt collection warnin, and in march, a delinquency appeared on his credit report. tsugi says he didn't know about the loan until january 5th, about two weeks after sofi approved it. when the bank sent him this email, it said your sofi personal loan statement is ready. >> check out your loan statement. and i was what loan statement? >> he figured it was a mistake after all. he says the loan did not show up on his credit

report, nor did any credit inquiry from sofi. so he called the bank. >> they were like, you do have an account with us and we are sending you a statement, you know, because eventually there will be a payment due. and i was like, no, it wasn't me. >> sofi agreed to investigate, but later sent him this form letter, dated the very same day. he called it, said the bank finished investigating and found no fraud. >> so they open and close the investigation in the same day. it should take more than that. >> she filed a second dispute, but this time sofi refused to investigate at all, saying the claim was frivolous. >> banks are definitely supposed to investigate when there's, you know, a fraud accusation. >> it's really fact dependent on, you know, what's a diligent investigation? >> experts say california law includes broad protections for identity theft victims. >> if you're a victim of identity theft and an account is opened in your name, you have the right to demand that application so that you can see

what information is floating out there and what was used to open that account. >> banks are also required by law to verify the identity of every new client who opens an account. a post nine over 11 rule called know your customer, but like many online banks, sofi's applications are done entirely over the internet. not in person. >> i do think that this calls into question the security of online banking, right? because if it was the actual person handing over their documentation, it's a little easier to check that their id matches the human being in front of them. >> sofi said it does require customers to verify their identity using an electronic identification tool. the process involves uploading a government id together with a real time video of the applicant, and then verifying that they match. but tsuji said sofi did not tell him whether it verified the person's identity or how. the only proof it provided was this truth in lending statement and a copy of

the loan agreement with this electronic signature at the bottom. >> it's not my regular signature, it's not that, that's for sure. >> the e-signature spells out tsuji's name, and he says anyone could have forged it. the bank also would not tell tsuji where all that money went. tsuji said he did not see any deposits into his bank accounts before shutting them down. he also showed us his credit reports, which do not show any credit inquiries by sofi bank, a standard practice, before approving a loan, tsuji says an inquiry would have triggered an alert that someone was opening an account in his name, and he could have stopped the loan. >> the protections that are supposed to be in place, they are kind of ignored. the bank says it did pull his credit, though. >> it did not provide tsuji with any proof. in a statement, sofi said we're confident in the fact that our team took all appropriate steps each and every time we went through our investigation process. we see no proof of third party fraudulent activity and no proof of identity theft. we will not be

relieving mr. sato of the responsibilities he committed to upholding when he personally applied for and accepted the personal loan. >> i'm just a family man who tried to, you know, be a good person. >> but here is where the story took a sharp turn. tsuji is about to have a profound realization. he knew the scammer and he looked a lot like him. n n franscsco, e e mosturureauctitic cicity iamameric we have 130 city commissions. we have five city commissions all dedicated to homelessness, but homelessness is getting worse, way worse. cocommisonon aft c commiioion, talk, talk, talk, but no action.

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of the trouble ahead. she tells us he'd been hosting family members from his homeland in indonesia over the holidays when he found out about the loan, as he agonized over what to do. he says his brother rudy tried to help, urging him to report the fraud to authorities. so he filed identity theft reports with the federal trade commission. the police department in brentwood, where

he lives. the state attorney general's office and all three credit bureaus. he swore under penalty of perjury on the ftc report that an imposter took out the loan. still, sophie would not reopen his case. >> that's when seven on your side decided to contact sophie bank, asking what evidence it used to identify the person who applied for that loan. and where did all that money go? >> and that's when the story took a dramatic turn. >> rudy, i got a big clue from you yesterday. >> sophie told seven on your side. it had plenty of evidence showing sophie took out the loan. not an imposter. bank officials at sophie's san francisco headquarters declined to go on camera. but in a written statement, sophie said a man identifying himself as suharto called in december asking when he'd get the loan money. the bank said a recording of that voice matched a recording of his voice when he

called in january to dispute the loan. sophie did not provide results of any voice recognition software. even more compelling, sophie said it had video of sergei verifying his identity during the online application process. the bank wrote we've retained the video he submitted of himself, which shows him holding the license up with his face in the frame before panning to his computer screen, where he was applying for the loan. the man in the video is the same man pictured on his driver's license. >> so i asked sergei, did you make such a video? >> it was at that moment, sergei says the realization struck like a dagger. >> i got a big clue from you yesterday when you mentioned about somebody recording and applying withholding driver license, my driver's license, number one. i never done that. >> but he says it suddenly dawned on him who did. he knew the imposter, the real killian

rose. >> the ftc report is correct. you know, somebody did steal my identity, but. apparently, i hosted that person. >> sergei said he now realized the thief was his own brother. rudy. one of the family members who had been visiting from indonesia over the holidays. sergei says he and rudy share a striking resemblance, and they are often mistaken for one another. >> he's like a slightly younger version of me, and if he were my glasses, you you cannot really tell us apart. >> it was rudy who had helped him file identity theft reports, and sergei said he now recalled rudy not seem surprised when the killian rose packet arrived at abc seven weeks later, and he was like, oh, okay. >> so now hopefully they will clear you. and i was like, it's not that simple. >> one by one, he said, the

pieces fell into place. sergey says rudy had been staying at his brentwood home in december and january to make life easier for his guest, sergei says he let his brother use his home computer, his chase debit card and his personal cell phone. rudy also had access to sergei's wallet with his driver's license. he says rudy was alone in the house, while sergei and other family members were skiing in oregon. on the day the loan application was made, rudy did not return to indonesia until february, just after the killian rose packet was mailed, sergei said he confronted his brother in a phone call to indonesia. >> i asked him, point blank, do you have anything to do with this? his response was, do i need to get a lawyer? i was shocked when he said that because we are brothers, i open my home to him. we close. >> sergei says he was devastated, but also relieved.

on the one hand, he no longer had to worry that an elusive cyber criminal somewhere in the world had all of his personal information and could ruin his life at any moment. on the other hand, he says, a beloved family member had betrayed him. >> i don't know which one is worse. to have that information in the open. or to have flesh and blood, you know, stab you in the back. >> we told sophie bank. sergei. now believed it was his lookalike brother who took out the loan while he was a guest in his house. right away, the bank softened its stance a bit, offering to let sergei open a new claim based on family fraud. still, all signs pointed to sergei as the one who took out the loan. the application was made on his computer. the money went into his chase bank account. his id and debit card were used to withdraw the money

in large chunks. sergei confronted his brother again. he says this time he got answers. >> he basically came clean. he did apply under my name. he used my laptop on my living room. he had my id and he has my atm. and i asked him like, why? i mean, why? how were you able to rip me off, stay in my house. celebrated new year. he broke down, cried. >> sergei says rudy told him he'd planned to replace the funds, but lost everything in a cryptocurrency scam. and so he tried to undo the damage by concocting the killian rose packet, confessing to the bank and to seven on your side. >> he's like, that's all i could think of. if i make you an alib, you'll never expect that your flesh and blood will do this to you. >> sergei says he felt torn. his brother may have scammed him, but rudy will always be his little brother. >> i don't know, this is. this

is. i don't know where to go from there. >> sergei filed new reports to the ftc and the brentwood police department, naming his own brother in the fraud. he hired an attorney who demanded sophie bank stop trying to collect on what he called a fraudulent loan. however, sophie said it still holds sergei responsible for payments since no one has shown proof of an identity thief and no one could have fooled the id verification. however, rudy claims he did just that he did get past the id verification. the brother agreed to speak with seven on your side about how he says he tricked sophie into loaning him that money, and how the crypto scammer allegedly helped him do it, then made off with all of it. seven on your side investigates. has that part of the story tomorrow night at 630 right here on abc seven. >> just incredible. >> it is hard to believe, brother. >> right. flesh and blood. that's tough all the way around. but what an elaborate story and

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the 40 niners will take sole possession of first place in the nfc west. the niners have won five straight games over the seattle seahawks, including last year's game on thanksgiving night. the niners won big 3113. there was that purdy aiyuk throw. and then postgame it was turkey time. >> they took that platter away from me. i actually got into the locker room. i will say the turkey did get eaten. it was pretty incredible how many people actually ate that thing. but they took that back. and then i didn't get access to that again. >> playing against seattle is always huge. going up there is always huge and then always in the nfl, it's tough to get ready for a thursday night game, but i think everyone enjoys them because there's very rare. it's very rare that you get to sit back and kind of enjoy that for

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at ten. the secret life of diddy a special edition of 2020. then do stay with us for abc seven news at 11 live coverage tracking. >> hurricane milton is next on the abc seven bay area live stream. download our app wherever you stream and we'll keep you up to date there as well. now this is a live look at key west, the southernmost point of florida. hurricane milton made landfall about 90 minutes ago at siesta key as a category three storm. look at this. >> people are just horsing around. that guy appears on the wall right there, left of your screen. >> key west, good bit south of the most intense part of the

storm, but still stay away from the water. obviously the storm started moving in hours ago, bringing high winds, heavy rain, a lot of tornadoes, more than a couple of dozen reported tornadoes around florida as a result of this storm that hit the tampa sarasota area as a category three, it will weaken from there. >> of course, that's dangerous situation that we continue to monitor. that is going to do it for this edition of abc seven news. thank you for joining us. >> i'm on the daetz and i'm dan ashley for sandhya patel. chris alvarez, all of us here. we appreciate your time. hope you have a nice evening and we'll see you again at 11. >> i'm reggie aqui i'm lyanne melendez, i'm luz pena, i'm tara campbell, i'm j.r. stone at abc seven news we

♪♪ from the alex trebek stage at sony pictures studios, this is... ♪♪ let's meet today's contestants-- a girl between gigs from melrose, massachusetts... a data analyst from sun prairie, wisconsin... and our returning champion, a content manager from riverside, connecticut... ...whose three-day cash winnings total $58,000.

and now here is the host of "jeopardy!"--ken jennings. thank you, johnny gilbert. welcome back to "jeopardy!" in yesterday's game, it was our self-proclaimed tortured brooklyn nets fan, mark fitzpatrick, who, unlike his favorite team, has been on a bit of a winning streak lately and picked up a third victory. today, he's back to face two new challengers in rob and colleen. best of luck to all three of you. let's get to work in the jeopardy! round. here are your categories. we begin in honor of "jeopardy!'s" 41st season with... then we have... then... you'll name the show. and finally... mark, what strikes your fancy? let's go world geography, $1,000. -mark. -what is hokkaido?