NY DMV rejected Georgia dealer reassignment—what can I do?

I bought a used car through Facebook Marketplace from someone at his house in Rochester, NY. The car has a NY title that was reassigned through multiple dealers, with the last one being a Georgia dealer. That dealer transferred it using a Georgia dealer reassignment form.

Two NY DMV offices rejected it and said the Georgia dealer must obtain a Georgia title first. The person we bought it from isn’t named anywhere in the title chain, and we can’t find contact information for the Georgia dealer.

Georgia DMV suggested asking NY about a title bond under VTL §2105(d)(2). Has anyone dealt with this? Can NY issue a bonded title in this situation, or does the Georgia dealer absolutely have to fix it?

What are our options if we cannot contact the guy we bought it from? I don’t think he lives at the residence we met at, I think it was a friend’s house who was holding the car for him. I was thinking about messaging him from another account and pretending to buy something else he was selling to meet up with him, but then what?