A former bookkeeper at Miramar’s Presidente Supermarket was arrested in connection with an alleged theft scheme that might have cost the company more than $3 million, according to police.
Elianny Soberao, 40, was arrested Wednesday on counts of organized plot to defraud, grand theft, and uttering a fake instrument, according to Broward jail records.
According to an arrest affidavit, the investigation began on February 24 when Miramar Police responded to the Presidente Supermarket on 3102 S. University Drive in Miramar.
According to the affidavit, police discovered that Soberao, the store’s financial manager and bookkeeper, withheld cash deposits while giving fraudulent documentation and changed bank records to an external accountant to conceal the theft.
Presidente’s co-owner informed detectives that the company’s preliminary inquiry revealed Soberao had been stealing cash from the business many times per week, but the exact quantity was unknown, according to the affidavit.
He claimed he confronted her, but she denied all wrongdoing, and she was fired.
The store’s external accountant informed investigators that the fraud “was made possible due to the level of trust placed in Soberao and her control over both the physical cash and the accounting records,” according to the affidavit.
Soberao began instructing cashier managers not to deposit specified quantities of cash, promising them she would “take care of it,” according to the affidavit.
Soberao obtained direct access to cash that should have been transferred into the company’s bank accounts, and to conceal the missing funds, she manipulated vendor invoices to represent fictitious expenses, according to the affidavit.
The external accountant’s financial analysis revealed losses of more than $880,000 in 2022, more than $1 million in 2023, more than $974,000 in 2024, and more than $1.19 million in 2025, totaling more than $3 million, according to the affidavit.
Investigators have directly tied Soberao to more than $500,000 in unusual currency payments into her accounts, according to the affidavit.
Soberao was taken into jail and held on a bond of little more than $1 million, according to documents.
Leave a Comment