A former Miami-Dade County faculty board member is accused of misusing funds for private achieve, together with shopping for pretend pregnant bellies.
Lubby Navarro, 49, is going through a number of costs, together with second-degree grand theft, third-degree grand theft, organized fraud of $20,000 or much less, and arranged fraud of $50,000 or extra, WPLG reported. She was taken into custody on Jan. 11.
The ex-vice chair allegedly spent an estimated $100,000 in 2022 utilizing district bank cards for lavish journeys overseas, well being merchandise, a settee, and meals, amongst different objects, State Legal professional Katherine Fernandez Rundle stated throughout a press convention earlier this month. The purchases, a few of which had been made at main retail shops like Walmart, had been unauthorized.
In the course of the presser, Rundle confirmed images of Navarro leaving Walmart with buying carts overflowing with completely different objects. Different purchases she made included family home equipment present in her house and, individually, an abundance of present playing cards — greater than 178 of them.
It has been reported that officers began trying into her spending habits after she resigned that very same 12 months, and her purchases raised the eyebrows of a district worker.
“What was found was that Navarro’s purchases weren’t school-related,” Rundle stated. “Each greenback stolen and spent by Ms. Navarro is a greenback taken from our college system and due to this fact stolen from our kids and diminishing their chance of a greater future. Lubby Navarro, who had been the vice chair of the varsity board and had labored for the varsity system since 2002, knew higher. She knew higher than to have gone this very pathetic path.”
It was revealed that she spent greater than $1,000 on business-class flight tickets on two separate holidays to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, along with her mom, and to Las Vegas, Nevada, along with her ex-boyfriend. Rundle claims that she additionally purchased items for his enterprise.
Officers alleged that she used the bank cards to purchase silicone bellies to trick her ex-boyfriend into considering she was pregnant, the Miami Herald reported. As well as, she additionally reportedly purchased Apple Air Tags to trace his whereabouts, putting them on his automobile.
Ben Kuehne, who’s representing Navarro, instructed CBS Information that his consumer “will likely be exonerated.”
The Catholic College of New Spain introduced this week that it’s revoking the honorary diploma awarded to her in 2019, in keeping with the report.
