Judge orders former Florida legislator’s property seized to pay campaign, legal debts
A Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge has ordered Miami-Dade police to seize items in a former Florida state senator’s home to pay back more than $26,000 owed to her former campaign manager.
Judge Jose Rodriguez ordered the Miami-Dade Police Department to enter Daphne Campbell’s NW 132nd Street home in North Miami and remove and take inventory of her personal property and other assets to “be applied towards the satisfaction of the outstanding judgment,” according to a post-judgment order issued Dec. 14.
The order came nearly five years after Campbell’s former campaign manager, Nacivre Charles, filed a lawsuit against his boss alleging she did not pay him for work completed. Campbell also owes another $33,000 for attorney fees, which will be paid to Charles’ attorneys, bringing the total debt to more than $59,000.
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The same judge ordered a second home in Campbell’s name be seized to collect the debt. “That will be sold as well ... with the proceeds applied towards the judgments,” debt attorney Roniel Rodriguez told the Miami Herald. He is representing Charles in obtaining the money issued by the judgments.
Campbell is appealing both decisions. “I’m hopeful that we will win the appeal,” her attorney Larry Metsch told the Herald.
Metsch said his client’s property has not yet been seized.
Rodriguez said one of the reasons he hadn’t showed up at her doorstep with police is because he thought once she received a copy of the order, she would try to make some arrangement for payment. “I thought she would do the right thing in honoring her financial responsibility to the plaintiff,” Rodriguez said. “And at least offer to me some kind of payment arrangement or something of that nature. But you know, incredibly, to date, no efforts whatsoever. I was shocked.”
That attorney representing Charles in the lawsuit, Jeffrey S. Greenhaus, said he could not comment on the lawsuit as it is on appeal.
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Charles filed a lawsuit in July 2018 alleging he completed work for a successful campaign bid in 2016 when Campbell was running for the District 38 seat in the Florida Senate. The case went to trial in August 2022, with a jury awarding Charles $18,500. In addition to that amount, Campbell must pay another roughly $7,600 in interest and fees for a total of $26,143.
Legal and financial troubles
Campbell has been involved in several controversies. In March 2022, the Florida Ethics Commission imposed a $22,500 penalty on Campbell after finding she violated state financial disclosure laws by filing forms that failed to include unpaid taxes when she was a state legislator.
Campbell, a registered nurse, represented North Miami for eight years in the Florida Legislature, first as a state representative and then as a senator. She was unseated by Jason Pizzo in a 2018 primary and made an unsuccessful run for state Senate in 2020.
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In another incident, Campbell posted a video to YouTube showing her accepting a designer purse stuffed with cash from the pocket of a healthcare nonprofit executive at a 2017 campaign fundraiser, but she later insisted it was a “joke.”
Questions about Campbell’s residency have also followed her. In 2018, the Herald found holes in her residency record that made it unclear if she lived in her state Senate district as required, though no official action was taken.
In July 2022, Campbell filed documents to run for North Miami mayor. She raised $6,250 for her campaign, according to a Dec. 12 finance form submitted to North Miami. However, Campbell would have to refile to run as the city recently changed the date of its elections from May 2023 to November 2024.
This story was originally published January 9, 2023 at 6:27 PM.
