TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A state grand jury found that the DeSantis administration misappropriated $10 million from a Medicaid settlement by routing it into the Hope Florida Foundation in 2024, calling the transfer “part of a political scheme to fund political activities.”
The sealed grand jury report, obtained by CBS News Miami, is stamped Jan. 26 by the Leon County Clerk of Court’s Office and had been kept out of public view since then.
The allegations of fraud and abuse were first raised by state Rep. Alex Andrade of Pensacola. Andrade declined an invitation to appear on the newscast, saying he wasn’t sure what he could legally say.
The report details how a 2023 settlement between the state and Centene Corp. over Medicaid overbilling resulted in $57 million going to the state and $10 million going to Hope Florida, a community-based program intended to connect welfare recipients with private and church-based programs. Hope Florida was headed by Casey DeSantis, the governor’s wife.
According to the grand jury report, “Within days, the $10,000,000 was transferred to other organizations for political purposes because money was spent on a political campaign and went to the Republican Party of Florida.” The report says the money was transferred from Hope Florida to the Republican Party and two political action committees “for political purposes,” specifically to fund a campaign to defeat a ballot initiative that would have legalized recreational marijuana in Florida.
The report cites state law governing where such funds should go, stating, “… the funds shall be placed in the General Revenue Fund or in the trust fund that is associated with the agencies…” The report says the transfers did not follow the law and that the money should have gone into the state’s general fund.
One of the PACs involved was chaired by the governor’s general counsel at the time, James Uthmeier, who is now the state attorney general, according to the report.
The grand jury report says Uthmeier contacted a group called Save Our Society From Drugs and advised it to apply for a grant from Hope Florida. Hope Florida then awarded the group $5 million a few days later, the report says. Within a week, the group gave $4.75 million to Uthmeier’s PAC, Keep Florida Clean, according to the report. The report also says another PAC, Secure Florida’s Future, funneled the money it received to Uthmeier’s PAC.
The report also says Andrade noticed the state never issued a press release about the Medicaid settlement, as other states had done, and that the state did not notify the Legislature or the public about the $10 million payment to Hope Florida. The report states, “… the executive branch is supposed to notice the legislative branch when monies are coming in or going out and the purpose of the expenditure. Rep. Andrade indicates that no such notice was given…” Andrade later publicly stated that Uthmeier and others engaged in a conspiracy to defraud the public of the $10 million, according to the report.
Despite finding the money was misappropriated, the grand jury said it did not find enough evidence to bring criminal charges. “Despite our finding that the money was misappropriated, we find insufficient evidence to charge anyone criminally,” the report says.
The report concludes, “We can plainly see that taxpayer money was misused for political purposes and we would like to see changes made to prevent this from happening again.” It recommends the Legislature enact a law to prevent similar situations in the future, set requirements for how organizations can use taxpayer funds, and provide consequences for violations.