Sunrise driver license examiner faces 77 felony charges in alleged stolen identity license scheme, troopers say

A driver license examiner at the state-run driver license office in Sunrise is facing 77 felony charges in Broward County, accused of helping members of an organized fraud ring obtain Florida driver licenses under stolen identities, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Troopers arrested Quonteria Lameshae Dixon, 37, of northwest Miami-Dade, on Thursday, Nov. 12. Investigators said she worked as an examiner for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles at its office at 3511 N. Pine Island Road in Sunrise, where they allege she processed at least 10 fraudulent transactions. Her charges include racketeering, grand theft, forgery, fraud and falsifying official documents, according to WPLG Local 10, which reviewed the arrest warrant. Dixon has not been convicted of any crime, and the allegations have not been tested in court.

As of Friday, Nov. 13, she was being held at the Broward Sheriff's Office North Broward Bureau jail in Pompano Beach pending a bond hearing, the station reported.

What troopers allege

According to the arrest warrant as described by Local 10, the scheme worked like this: other participants walked into the Sunrise office with phony paperwork built around the real personal information of identity theft victims from Florida and other states. Dixon, investigators allege, processed those applications and issued credentials in the victims' names.

Once they had a genuine state-issued license or identification card in a stolen name, participants allegedly used the documents to finance vehicles and attempt other fraud. The warrant says suspects also tried to use the documents to commit bank fraud and to obtain gambling lines of credit, the station reported.

Troopers said some of the applicants were plainly not the people they claimed to be. In one transaction cited in the warrant, investigators said the department's computer portal showed Dixon a side-by-side photo of the real license holder and the person standing at her counter. The warrant describes the differences between the two as so obvious that an untrained eye could have told they were different people, pointing to skin complexion and the shape of the ears and lips.

In another case, authorities said a 54-year-old woman presented a Florida birth certificate from a "Navarro County," a county that does not exist in Florida, along with a Texas driver license, both carrying the information of a woman in her 80s from Jasper County, Texas. Investigators allege that one participant visited the Sunrise office twice within a matter of days and left with documents issued under the identities of two different victims.

The car dealership arrest

The case involving the Texas woman's identity is one of the clearest examples in the warrant of how the documents were allegedly used. According to authorities, the 54-year-old woman, of Pompano Beach, went to a car dealership in Miami Gardens on Feb. 28 and tried to buy a vehicle worth nearly $43,000 in the older woman's name. She was arrested there.

Investigators said she had previously obtained a loan for a Lexus worth nearly $134,000 under the same victim's name. Court records show she entered a deferred prosecution agreement in Miami-Dade County in connection with the Miami Gardens arrest, according to Local 10. A deferred prosecution agreement typically allows a defendant to avoid trial by meeting conditions set by prosecutors.

The Florida Press is not naming that woman because her case was resolved through a diversion agreement.

The 77 counts

The size of the charging sheet reflects how Florida prosecutors and investigators typically structure fraud cases: each transaction, each forged document and each use of a victim's identity can be charged as a separate count, and racketeering charges tie the alleged pattern together. Under Florida law, a racketeering charge requires prosecutors to show a pattern of criminal activity carried out through an enterprise, and it is a first-degree felony.

The Highway Patrol has not publicly said how many other people are under investigation, how many identity theft victims were affected in total, or how much money lenders and dealerships may have lost. Troopers also have not said whether Dixon is accused of being paid for the transactions. Those details may emerge as the case moves through Broward County court.

Why the case matters to Florida drivers

A Florida driver license is one of the most widely accepted forms of identification in the state. It is used to open bank accounts, sign car loans, board domestic flights and rent apartments. When a license is issued in a stolen name through a legitimate state office, it carries the full weight of a real credential, which is what makes insider fraud at license offices especially damaging to victims.

The department says on its website that it requires applicants to prove identity, residency and citizenship or lawful presence, trains staff to recognize counterfeit documents and employs analysts who investigate allegations of driver license fraud. The agency defines driver license fraud to include using another person's identity or submitting counterfeit documents to obtain a license or ID card.

The case comes weeks after the department rolled out a redesigned driver license and identification card on Sept. 29, 2026, which the agency describes as one of the most secure over-the-counter identification options available. The alleged transactions in the Dixon case involved credentials issued over the counter by an employee, a vulnerability that card design alone does not address.

A history of insider cases in South Florida

The Sunrise case is not the first time South Florida driver license employees have been accused of abusing their access. In past years, state investigators have arrested examiners in Miami-Dade and Broward counties on charges ranging from bribery to falsifying driving test results, including a case in which seven examiners from offices in Hialeah and Coral Gables were charged with accepting bribes in exchange for licenses. Each of those earlier cases involved different defendants and different alleged conduct.

What identity theft victims can do

The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles advises Floridians who believe someone obtained a license in their name to first file a report with local law enforcement or the Florida Highway Patrol Bureau of Investigations. Suspected driver license fraud can be reported directly to the agency's fraud section by email at fraud@flhsmv.gov, along with the victim's name and contact information and any details about the suspect.

The department can also place a "Verify ID Flag" on a Florida driver record at the holder's written request. The flag alerts law enforcement that someone may be using the person's identity, and the agency says it will notify the license holder by letter before adding court information to the record, giving them 45 days to show they were not the person involved. The agency also recommends placing fraud alerts with the three credit reporting companies and reviewing one's driving record periodically for tickets or activity that do not belong there.

What's next

Dixon is awaiting a bond hearing in Broward County. Prosecutors with the Broward State Attorney's Office will decide whether to formally file the charges troopers listed in the arrest warrant, a step that can change the number and type of counts. If the case proceeds, she will be arraigned and can enter a plea. She is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

The Florida Highway Patrol has not said whether additional arrests are expected. Anyone who believes their identity was used to obtain a Florida credential at the Sunrise office can contact the department's fraud section or the Highway Patrol.