The former housing director of a South Florida non-profit arrested after authorities said he stole over $1.2 million from the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust is no longer facing charges in a separate drug case.
The drug case against Thomas Jardon, the former housing director for Citrus Health Network, has been dropped, but prosecutors are continuing to pursue the high-profile fraud case that first drew public attention last month.
Court records filed Friday show the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office filed a “No Action Memorandum,” indicating prosecutors will not move forward with the drug case against Jardon.
Miami-Dade State Attorney’s OfficeMiami-Dade State Attorney’s Office
The charges against Thomas Jardon
That case stemmed from the same investigation that led to Jardon’s arrest on dozens of fraud-related charges. During Jardon’s first court appearance, a judge referenced allegations that investigators found methamphetamine, Cialis, Viagra and Alprazolam during a search of the home where authorities said Jardon was living.
The decision does not affect the larger criminal case against Jardon.
The former housing director still faces 57 criminal charges, including racketeering, organized scheme to defraud, grand theft and identity theft, in connection with what investigators describe as a scheme that stole more than $1 million from programs intended to help Miami-Dade County’s homeless population.
According to an arrest warrant, investigators allege Jardon created and controlled multiple companies that were used to generate fraudulent leases for housing that was never provided to homeless clients. Authorities say some property owners told investigators they never authorized the companies to manage their properties and had no relationship with the homeless housing program.
Investigators also accuse Jardon of billing Citrus Health Network for furniture that was supposedly delivered to homeless clients but, in some cases, never reached those families. The warrant alleges those expenses were later submitted for county reimbursement.
Prosecutors allege proceeds from the scheme funded an extravagant lifestyle.
Investigators discovered Thomas Jardon had purchased two $19,000 Rolex watches, an 18K gold Cuban chain, 12 lithographs from an art dealer in Switzerland, designer clothes, plane tickets, hotels as well as four new vehicles including a Jeep, a BMW, and two Chevy Silverados, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said.