Three Pembroke Pines residents arrested in Miami-Dade tag agency scheme, cops say
Three Pembroke Pines residents were among the nearly two dozen arrests made Friday, Feb. 20, in a fraud scheme involving motor vehicle tag agencies, officials said.
The six-month investigation, dubbed “Operation Ghost Writer,” was led by the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office and the Miami-Dade Tax Collector’s Office.
At a Feb. 20 news conference, Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said 22 suspects have been arrested, with the scheme spanning across multiple tag agencies within the county.
Among those arrested were three Pines residents — Emma Rosa Castillo, 69, Jose Luis Daza-Espinosa, 56, and Jorge Alexander Jamieson, 60.
According to arrest reports, all three were charged with official misconduct, providing false information on a public record and forgery and alteration involving vehicle title and identification.
The fraudulent transactions were processed through the Hialeah Gardens Auto Tag Agency.
Castillo, a manager at the tag agency, is accused of altering and forging official title documents, records show.
Investigators say surveillance footage shows Castillo matching ink colors before crossing out information on a Florida certificate of title, writing in false details and signing on behalf of others without authorization.
Officials also say she completed and signed a fraudulent power of attorney form and processed the forged documents through the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles system (FLHSMV).
Daza-Espinosa is accused of forging multiple signatures during two separate vehicle title transactions in July 2025.
Investigators say he signed as the purchaser and grantor on title documents and power of attorney forms, allegedly using copies of identification to imitate signatures. According to his arrest report, he admitted to forging the paperwork during a post-Miranda interview.
Jamieson is accused of forging signatures on a Florida title, application for certificate of title and power of attorney documents during a July 2025 transaction involving a 2022 Hyundai.
Authorities say surveillance footage shows him copying and imitating the listed purchaser’s signature, which he admitted to according to his arrest report.
In the Daza-Espinosa and Jamieson cases, co-defendant Angelica Reyes-Sanchez, a clerk at the Hialeah Gardens tag agency, is accused of facilitating and processing the fraudulent transactions, records show.
Investigators say that the broader scheme involves clerks unlawfully accessing the data from the FLHSMV to obtain personal and vehicle information and submitting falsified documents to retitle the cars.
“We are collaborating closely with our partners to review safeguards, enhance oversight and ensure that appropriate controls are in place to prevent such misconduct from reoccuring,” Cordero-Stutz said during the news conference.
There are 27 tag agencies within Miami-Dade County. The tax collector’s office is responsible for the auditing and monitoring of those agencies and identified irregularities before referring the matter to the sheriff’s office, Cordero-Stutz said.
The investigation remains ongoing.
The Pembroke Pines News reached out to FLHSMV for comment and has not received a response as of Monday, Feb. 23.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office encourages any individual who has information on public corruption to report a tip on the department’s website.
