NEW ORLEANS — Jordy Robertson, the father of Saints superfan Jarrius “JJ” Robertson, was arrested Thursday night on drug trafficking charges and as well as allegations that he raided charities that were meant to defray his son’s medical expenses for a lifelong kidney disease.
The arrest came months after DEA agents raided the office of the nonprofit for his son called “It Takes Lives to Save Lives.”
The charitable donations were diverted by Robertson for his own use, much of it spent at a variety of New Orleans area casinos, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court on Friday.
At one point, donations to the charity were boosted by a GoFundMe campaign, raising nearly $100,000 for Jarrius’ medical needs. Instead, according to the complaint, all the money was diverted to Jordy Robertson’s personal bank account.
“There do not appear to be legitimate charitable expenses related to either paying medical expenses for Juvenile-1 (Jarrius) or for raising awareness regarding organ donation,” the agent wrote.
Robertson, 35, was booked on charges including conspiracy to distribute cocaine, wire fraud and witness threatening, said Special Agent Debbie Webber, a DEA spokeswoman.
VIDEO: Raid on foundation in October, 2018
Robertson made his first appearance in federal court in New Orleans on Friday morning and was due back on court Monday for a detention hearing.
“JJ” Robertson has not been accused of any crime and is not a suspect in any investigation, the DEA has said.
The 19-page criminal complaint against Robertson outlined alleged cocaine and heroin deals orchestrated from his home base in the River Parishes area going back to 2017.
The complaint reveals a long-running investigation targeting Robertson and other suspects using confidential informants, wiretaps, text messages, tape-recorded conversations and controlled drug purchases.
Robertson allegedly told a confidential informant that he had access to kilogram quantities of high-quality cocaine, DEA Agent Jason Renton wrote in the criminal complaint.
“Robertson stated that on one trip he went to Mississippi and picked up “90 grand,” which I believe is a reference to $90,000…Robertson went into further details saying the source of supply’s family moves drugs to other states and has mules to transport the illegal narcotics,” Renton wrote.
In an odd twist, Robertson contacted authorities in November 2017 after hearing rumors about him being a “snitch” for police.
At a subsequent meeting in Metairie with a federal agent and a St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s captain, Robertson allegedly confessed to being involved in drug trafficking in the past, but that he had walked away from that lifestyle due to Jarrius.
“Robertson responded that ‘a few years ago, you guys had me, but I changed my life around and I’m not in the game anymore because of my kid,’” the agent wrote.
But the investigation into Robertson did not end with that meeting. Two days later, the complaint alleges, Robertson created his son’s charity and began accepting donations.
After a substantial amount of evidence had allegedly been gathered against Robertson, federal authorities served Robertson a “target letter” in October 2018, altering him that he was a criminal suspect, the complaint states.
Robertson and an attorney met with authorities at the U.S. Attorney’s office in November 2018, and Robertson apparently walked away from the meeting with an assumption about the identity of the main confidential informant – referred to as CS-1 – against him.
After the meeting Robertson “attempted to intimidate, threaten and corruptly persuade CS-1 with the intent to influence, delay or prevent CS-1’s testimony,” the agent wrote.
In addition to allegedly driving around the informant’s neighborhood armed with a gun, Robertson allegedly used social media to identify the informant by name, referred to him as a “rat” and a “DEA agent.”