Customers buying items during a FIFA World Cup match at Hard Rock Stadium were allegedly charged the correct total. Investigators say the money was quietly recorded in a very different way.
A Sodexo Live manager reportedly uncovered the pattern after noticing unusually high tip percentages connected to the same three workers across all six World Cup games they had worked. Authorities said the disputed transactions totaled $10,138.
Angel Matta, Justin Samuel, and Marcus Tribble were arrested after working Saturday’s match between England and France in Miami Gardens. Each now faces felony organized fraud and grand theft charges.
The charges are allegations. The three men have not been convicted in the case.
The Customers Still Saw the Expected Total
According to Local 10, the final amount presented to each customer matched the proper cost of the transaction. The way that total was divided inside the payment system was allegedly manipulated.
Rather than recording the amount as payment for the merchandise, investigators said the workers provided the items at no cost and entered the merchandise value as their tip. A customer buying $40 in stadium items, for example, could still see a $40 total and have little reason to suspect anything unusual.
The business records, however, would allegedly show free merchandise paired with a tip far larger than the underlying sale.
Unique Logins Connected the Transactions to Three Workers
Sodexo Live, which operated as a vendor during the World Cup games at Hard Rock Stadium, issued transaction devices to workers at the beginning of their shifts, according to the arrest forms described by Local 10.
Each employee was required to access the assigned device using a unique identifier. The devices remained with the workers throughout their shifts, giving the company a record of which account was used to complete each transaction.
A manager told investigators that she found the same three workers connected to exceptionally high credit card tip percentages during all six games they had worked. The repeated pattern across multiple events reportedly led the company to alert deputies.
All Three Men Face Two Felony Charges
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office identified the three men as Matta, 38, of Miramar; Samuel, 46, of Lauderdale Lakes; and Tribble, 37, of Lauderhill. They were each charged with organized fraud involving $20,000 or less and third-degree grand theft.
As of Sunday afternoon, all three men remained at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Jail records cited by Local 10 listed an individual bond of $5,000 for each defendant.
The criminal cases were still at the arrest stage, and the source did not report that any of the men had entered a plea. Prosecutors would still need to establish the alleged transaction pattern and each defendant’s role through the court process.
Tip Manipulation Can Hide Inside Normal-Looking Sales
At crowded venues, restaurants, bars, festivals, and stadiums, payment systems can create blind spots if managers only review total card volume and do not compare item sales, comps, voids, and tip percentages by employee login.
Businesses can reduce the risk by reviewing unusually high tip rates, repeated free-item entries, excessive comps, voids after payment, manual price changes, and tip totals that do not match normal sales patterns.
Customers should still check their receipts after card transactions, especially at busy events where screens move quickly and tip prompts can be easy to miss. Suspected point-of-sale fraud should be reviewed internally, preserved before records are overwritten, and reported to law enforcement when the records show a repeated pattern of unauthorized payments or theft.