A former Miami-Dade School Board member is set to serve time in prison after confessing to misusing district-issued credit cards for personal shopping and vacations.

Lubby Navarro, who once held a role on the Miami-Dade School Board, pleaded guilty to third-degree grand theft on April 14, as confirmed by a spokesperson from the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office. As a result, Navarro received a 14-month prison sentence followed by three years of probation.

Part of her sentencing requires Navarro to repay over $100,000. Additionally, she is prohibited from holding any government position or managing funds in a trusted capacity during her probationary period, according to the spokesperson.

At her sentencing on April 14, Navarro expressed remorse, stating, “I want to begin by apologizing to the children of Miami-Dade County Public Schools for the honor I had for eight years,” according to NBC 6. She further added, “I believe I can now begin to put this behind me and serve the time.”

The investigation began in January 2023 when Miami-Dade County Public Schools noticed irregularities on an outstanding credit bill linked to Navarro, as detailed in an arrest warrant obtained by Oxygen. Investigators also found unauthorized charges, requests for increased credit limits, and surveillance footage allegedly depicting Navarro making some of these purchases.

Navarro reportedly used two district-issued credit cards to spend over $92,000, purchasing items such as beauty products, clothing, and household goods, as noted in the warrant. She also allegedly spent more than $42,000 on gift cards for luxury and popular brands, including Gucci, Smoothie King, Starbucks, and Nordstrom.

A second card, meant for travel, was used to charge more than $9,000 on airfare, hotels, car rentals, meals and more for trips to Punta Cana and Las Vegas, expenses authorities noted in the warrant paid not just for Navarro but also family and friends. 

After Navarro’s 2024 arrest, State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle criticized her actions as “pathetic.” 

“Every dollar stolen and spent by Navarro is a dollar taken from our school system, and therefore, stolen from our children diminishing their possibility for a better future,” Rundle said in a press release. “Lubby Navarro, who had been the Vice Chair of the School Board and had worked for the school system since 2002, knew better than to have gone down this pathetic path.”  

Defense attorney Benedict Kuehne did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Oxygen.   

“We ask the community to fully accept that she has accepted her wrongdoing. She has started the path to rehabilitation,” Kuehne said, according to NBC 6. “She never intended to hurt the children of this community who she loves. She never intended to cause disruption to the school board, and this is a step to correcting those issues.”

Spokespeople from the School Board of Miami-Dade County and Miami-Dade Public Schools did not return requests for comment from Oxygen.