Quonteria Lameshae Dixon, 37, of northwest Miami-Dade, was arrested Thursday, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. She was being held Friday at the Broward Sheriff's Office North Broward Bureau jail in Pompano Beach awaiting a bond hearing. Her charges include racketeering, grand theft, forgery, fraud and falsifying official documents.

Investigators said Dixon processed at least 10 fraudulent transactions while working at the DHSMV office at 3511 N. Pine Island Road in Sunrise. In those cases, other suspects submitted phony paperwork containing the real personal information of victims from Florida and other states, according to an arrest warrant. The participants then used the fictitious identification documents to finance vehicles and commit other forms of fraud, troopers said.

Some of the suspects bore no resemblance to the people whose identities they were using, according to the warrant. In one instance, the DHSMV portal showed Dixon a side-by-side photo comparison of a victim and the person in the office presenting her documents. The warrant described the contrast as so obvious that even an untrained eye could tell the images were of two different people, citing differences in skin complexion, ear shape and lip shape.

In another case, authorities said a 54-year-old woman presented Dixon with a Florida birth certificate from a nonexistent "Navarro County" and a Texas driver's license bearing the information of a woman in her 80s. That suspect, identified as Debra Jill Rodriguez, went to a car dealership in Miami Gardens on Feb. 28 to try to buy a vehicle priced at nearly $43,000 under the Jasper County, Texas, woman's name and was arrested, according to troopers. Authorities said Rodriguez had previously obtained a loan for a Lexus valued at nearly $134,000 under the victim's name. Records show Rodriguez, of Pompano Beach, entered a deferred prosecution agreement in Miami-Dade court in connection with the Miami Gardens arrest.

Troopers also said one participant visited the Sunrise office twice within a matter of days and obtained documents from Dixon under the identities of two separate victims. Beyond vehicle financing, suspects tried to use the fake documents to commit bank fraud and to obtain gambling lines of credit, according to the warrant.

The case highlights the vulnerability of identity systems that residents rely on for everything from driving to borrowing money, and it raises questions about the safeguards meant to catch fraudulent applications at the counter. DHSMV offices process identity documents in person, and examiners are often the last line of defense against someone presenting another person's credentials.

Dixon's arrest marks the latest development in a broader investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol into the scheme. Authorities have not said whether additional arrests are expected. Court records for Dixon were not immediately available Friday, and it was not clear whether she had an attorney.