Who is Lubby Navarro? All about Miami-Dade School Board member accused of spending district funds on lavish trips 

Lubby Navarro, former Miami-Dade School Board vice chair, was arrested Thursday, January 11, 2024. Navarro was accused of using a school-issued credit card to charge at least $100,000 in personal expenses that included two fake pregnancy bellies from Amazon that she allegedly used to try and convince her ex-boyfriend she was carrying his baby.

The arrest comes a year after Lubby Navarro, 49, resigned from her post as vice chair of the Miami-Dade School Board after a federal judge ruled on a new state law that prevented elected officials from being lobbyists. Navarro, who has been a member of the school board since 2015, is a registered lobbyist for the South Broward Hospital District.

According to state investigators and prosecutors cited in the Miami Herald, the illegal expenses on school-issued credit cards were discovered after Navarro resigned from the board in December 2022 and failed to file expenses for the month. A district employee who filed the expenses reportedly noticed the discrepancies and alerted authorities.

State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, who detailed the allegations in a news conference on Thursday, said the misuse of the school-issued card began from January 2022 to December 2022.

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Charges against Lubby Navarro explored in wake of arrest

Lubby Navarro, who was born in Havana, Cuba and has been a resident of Miami for over 40 years, was elected to represent Miami-Dade County School Board, District 7, in 2015.

Per her bio on her website, Lubby Navarro is also an active member of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, United States Homeland Security, and Seventh Coast Guard District.

Navarro, a mother of a daughter, was elected the Miami-Dade School Board vice chair in November 2021. On Thursday, State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said Navarro was booked into the Miami-Dade County jail on two counts of grand theft and two counts of fraud overcharging at least $100,000 in personal expenses, including lavish trips and shopping sprees.

In addition to the trips and shopping sprees, Navarro was also accused of making strange purchases of two silicone and cotton fake pregnancy bellies from Amazon to allegedly convince her former boyfriend she was pregnant. The 49-year-old was also accused of purchasing two Apple AirTag tracking devices that were later found inconspicuously attached to her ex-boyfriend’s car.

Miami Herald, citing a 91-page probable cause affidavit, reported Navarro used two school district credit cards to spend just over $92,000 shopping from multiple stores, including Walmart, Home Depot, GoDaddy, and TJ Maxx.

She reportedly also spent $9,000 on travel at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel with her boyfriend and taking her mother to the Dominican Republic. In a conference on Thursday, Rundle slammed Navarro over defrauding the school.

"Every dollar stolen and spent by Ms. Navarro is a dollar taken from our school system. And therefore stolen from our children and diminishing their possibility of a better future. She knew better than to have gone down this very pathetic past.”

In a written statement, Navarro's attorney denied the allegations and claimed she was innocent. Part of the statement read,

“Ms Navarro states without equivocation that she is innocent of wrongdoing and appreciates the many expressions of support and well wishes by those who know her best."

Navarro is reportedly being held on a $2 million bond. If convicted, she faces 3 to 55 years in prison.