A former nonprofit housing director is accused of stealing $1.2 million in public funds raised partly through the food and beverage tax that Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach and Golden Beach residents pay at restaurants across Miami-Dade County.

Thomas Jardon, 42, was booked into jail and held on a bond of just under $700,000, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle announced at a news conference Wednesday, as first reported by NBC Miami. Jardon faces charges of organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, identity theft and engaging in a pattern of racketeering activity.

How the money flowed through Citrus Health

The money came from the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, which is funded largely by a local food and beverage tax. The Homeless Trust referred clients to Citrus Health Network, a nonprofit community mental health center, which helped find housing and billed the county for those services.

Jardon served as Citrus Health's director of housing. The organization was founded in 1979 by his father, Mario Jardon.

Fake leases, phantom furniture and luxury purchases

Jardon ran two schemes over three years, according to the state attorney. In the first, he created five fake companies, drafted bogus leases for rental properties and funneled payments through layers of shell companies before Citrus Health sought county reimbursement.

In the second, he set up a sham company that invoiced Citrus Health for furniture that was never delivered. The furniture scheme alone netted just under $600,000, Fernandez Rundle said.

"While our homeless people were sleeping on the street, he had four new automobile purchases," Fernandez Rundle said at the news conference.

Investigators found Jardon spent the stolen funds on two $19,000 Rolex watches, an 18-karat gold Cuban chain, 12 lithographs from a Swiss art dealer, designer clothes, plane tickets, hotel stays and four vehicles: a Jeep, a BMW and two Chevrolet Silverados.

How the alleged thefts came to light

The schemes began to unravel after a Citrus Health senior accountant discovered more than $30,000 in Apple products purchased on the organization's Amazon account, according to Local 10 News. Executives asked Jardon to produce the products, and the scrutiny led to his firing in December 2025.

Ron Book, chairman of the Homeless Trust, said the trust had also flagged problems with Citrus Health's invoicing. Citrus Health then conducted an internal audit, discovered the thefts and reported the matter to the Miami-Dade County Office of the Inspector General, according to Fernandez Rundle.

Citrus Health has already reimbursed Miami-Dade County the full $1.2 million. Fernandez Rundle said Mario Jardon and other Citrus Health leaders had no knowledge of or involvement in the alleged thefts, calling it "a theft committed by a rogue employee."

No statement from Jardon or a defense attorney appeared in public records as of Wednesday. No arraignment date has been announced.

Residents who suspect fraud involving public funds can contact the inspector general's office.