MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — For the first time since the Miami Gardens pastor he trusted went to jail, Edward Fuller is speaking out. The retired postal worker should be living in his dream home with his daughters. Instead, at 79, he has had to start over, more than 500 miles from South Florida, and he wants to share his story so no one else has to go through what he has.
“These are the electrical plans here… these are the permits,” Fuller said in a 2017 interview with Local 10 News. “I can walk through this house blindfolded and tell you where everything is.”
Fuller spent 35 years working at the Post Office to build a home in North Miami, a home he planned to pass down to his daughters. But when he ran short of funds, a pastor he had never met offered to help secure loans to finish the house.
“I thought it was a blessing, a pastor coming by and talking that way about helping me finish my dream house,” Fuller recalled. “And so I believed he was true in what he was saying — that he could help me, he was a pastor.”
Instead of helping, Miami Gardens Pastor Eric Readon sold Fuller’s home out from under him, keeping hundreds of thousands of dollars. Local 10 News repeatedly tried to confront Readon, and our investigation helped bring attention to the case. Law enforcement eventually arrested Readon, but the case dragged on for years.
“It’s been difficult watching the time go by too long,” Fuller said. “And to see him on the news, continuing to do things he did to me… it’s very disheartening.”
Eight years later, Readon was sentenced to 364 days in the Miami-Dade Jail, 15 years of probation, and ordered to pay Fuller $180,000 in restitution.
“No, sir, not at all,” Fuller said when asked if he had received any of the money. “And not one dime, not one penny. I haven’t seen one dime, not one penny, and I don’t think I ever will.”
Fuller said the sentence does not feel like justice. “Partially. I think he should have gotten more time. I really feel like he’s getting away with murder.”
Now living in Georgia, Fuller has purchased a modest home and is working to repair his credit, leaning on family and friends for support. He says the toll of losing his dream and fighting for justice has been heavy.
“I can’t keep hashing this thing over in my mind because it’s going to run me down. It’s going to take away from me. So I have to let it go,” he said. “For someone that’s disabled, it puts a lot of stress and strain on me, both mentally and physically.”
Even so, Fuller believes sharing his story matters. “I think it’s the best thing exposing people that do these kinds of things. I’m just hoping it brings more people out so others don’t go through what I did,” he said.
Readon remains in jail and has filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Local 10 News has asked the State Attorney’s Office for an update on the status of restitution and is awaiting a response.
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