Trying to defraud what was still ‘Gus Machado Ford’ cost a Broward nurse dearly
A used BMW, an iconic car dealership in Hialeah and stolen credit cards turned into a suspended license for a Broward licensed practical nurse.
Showing the stately pace that medical professional discipline can take, the emergency suspension order on Soraya Tibe’s license posted Tuesday, 20 months after Tibe pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree grand theft and one count of attempting to obtain a car by trick. Tibe got sentenced to a two-year probation, which will end on July 30.
Professionally, Tibe’s been a licensed practical nurse since April 4, 2007, based in Sunrise and Lauderdale Lakes, with no previous professional disciplinary actions. Before the month’s out, the Florida Department of Health will file an administrative complaint that will start the ball rolling toward a final punishment from the state Board of Nursing.
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Trying to buy a Beemer with credit cards
What follows comes from the arrest report by Hialeah police after the bookings of Tibe and West Miami-Dade resident Kevin Ellis, who pleaded guilty to the same charges as Tibe plus fraudulent use of identification.
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In 2023, Ellis tried and failed to buy a used 2015 BMW 328i for $12,201 online from Gus Machado Ford, now Ford of Hialeah since a February dealership sale almost four years after Machado’s death. After dealership staff told Ellis he’d have to buy the car in person, Ellis showed up with Tibe on Oct. 5, 2023, to 1200 W. 49th St.
Tibe “began to hand two [Gus Machado employees] several physical cards to pay for the vehicle in small increments,” the report said. “[Ellis] began to read off credit card numbers from his cell phone to both” employees.
When the payments were processed, the Gus Machado Ford sales manager got a phone call from a woman who said Alpine Bank sent her a notification about a $2,000 transaction at the dealership. She knew she didn’t make that transaction, if for no other reason than she was at her Colorado home.
The sales manager called Hialeah police.
Police found Tibe carrying four gift cards, five credit cards and $980 cash. Ellis was carrying a bag with four credit cards that had neither Tibe nor Ellis’ name, three black plastic cards with a magnetic stripe “capable of receiving track data,” and some credit cards with Ellis information.
Once police detained Tibe and Ellis, Ellis told police they came in a U-Haul parked at the Olive Garden just west of the dealership. Police say they found a laptop with a device attached that allowed it to encode credit cards.
