Miami Gardens pastor sentenced to probation after grand theft conviction
Broward County Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra approved a motion on May 28, 2026 that ended the community control portion of a 2025 sentence for Eric Readon, a 50‑year‑old pastor of the New Beginning Love Center in Miami Gardens. The judge converted the remaining term to probation, maintaining the required probation period through May 2037 and the restitution obligation of $150,000.
Readon had been convicted on two counts of first‑degree grand theft in May 2025 after pleading no contest. The original plea dropped charges of organized fraud and filing false documents. The conviction stemmed from a real‑estate scheme involving a property at 12455 SW 20th St. in Davie. Investigators said the deed was altered after signing, and no payment was made to the property owner.
In addition to the Broward case, Readon pleaded guilty in June 2025 in Miami‑Dade County to elder exploitation involving former postal worker Edward Fuller. He was sentenced to 364 days in jail, 15 years of probation, and $180,000 in restitution.
Readon’s legal history includes a defamation suit filed in 2017 against Local 10 News, which was dismissed with prejudice and later upheld on appeal. The Third District Court of Appeal ordered Readon and his counsel to pay $73,372.29 in attorney’s fees to the broadcaster.