MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Former Miami-Dade School Board Vice Chair Lubby Navarro appeared in court Wednesday for a Nebbia hearing following her arrest last week on grand theft and fraud charges.
A Nebbia hearing is held for the defendant to disclose the source of funds used for bond payment.
Navarro, 49, was released from jail Saturday on a $100,000 bond after spending two nights in jail.
Her defense team submitted documents to prove her bail money came from legitimate sources, but the state says it needs more.
“There are some additional documents that the state is requesting from the defense,” Assistant State Attorney Annette Rasco said.
Navarro left court without answering reporters’ questions, but her attorney did speak on her behalf.
“This effort to ruin her well-deserved reputation as an honest, properly motivated community servant will be shown to be unjust,” attorney Michael Davis said.
Navarro was arrested last Thursday on accusations that she spent more than $100,000 on personal expenses using her district-issued credit cards in 2022, just before she resigned from the board over a new state law prohibiting lobbyists from holding elected positions.
Those purchases, prosecutors said, ranged from everything from food, to household goods and vacations, to the bizarre: two silicone pregnancy bellies, all in an effort to win her then-boyfriend back.
Navarro was required to surrender her passport upon being released from jail.
“Ms. Navarro is unequivocally innocent of all charges that have been filed,” Davis said. “We fully expect that when a jury hears the case, the jury will acquit without a doubt.”
Navarro was appointed to the school board in 2015 by then-Gov. Rick Scott and she is currently the director of Government Affairs for the Memorial Healthcare System, part of the South Broward Hospital District.
Navarro was placed on unpaid leave from that position following her arrest, officials said.
In court, we learned she was making $215,000 per year from that job.
July 2022 financial records also showed Navarro was making $46,000 from the school board and $42,000 from the Jorge Mas Canosa Freedom Foundation.
Her net worth was almost $200,000.
A follow-up hearing has been scheduled for Navarro for Jan. 31. Her arraignment will be held in February.