DeSantis’ team ‘misappropriated’ $10M meant for kids’ healthcare into political activities, grand jury finds

DeSantis’ team ‘misappropriated’ $10M meant for kids’ healthcare into political activities, grand jury finds A Florida grand jury report, submitted to the court earlier this year, determined Florida officials ‘misappropriated’ $10 million of a $67 million settlement intended to repay those who were over-billed for medical services for children - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments A Florida grand jury reportedly found that members of Governor Ron DeSantis’ administration “misappropriated” $10 million in taxpayer-owed settlement funds to an organization affiliated with Casey DeSantis to be used on political activities. The findings from the grand jury, obtained and reported by CBS News Miami, are the results of a months-long inquiry into allegations that Florida officials funneled $10 million of a $67 million Medicaid settlement, meant to repay those who were overbilled for healthcare services for sick and underprivileged children. In 2024, days after the $10 million was sent to Hope Florida Foundation, a welfare assistance program founded by Casey DeSantis, the money was transferred to other accounts, eventually landing in the lap of political action committees, two of which were run by the governor’s then-chief of staff, the grand jury said. For more than a year, current and former members of DeSantis’ administration have been accused of involvement in the so-called “Hope Florida Scandal.” DeSantis and other officials have denied the allegations and accused Democrats of a politically motivated push. Multiple investigations into the matter have been opened. But the grand jury findings, which were submitted under seal in January, have only been reported on now. Last year, the grand jury sat through witness testimony and forensic evidence analysis to better understand why $10 million was pulled from the settlement with Centene Corp, the state’s largest Medicaid contractor – and whether it constituted a crime. But even after concluding its report, the grand jury still had questions about how the settlement came about. Officials in Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration agreed that Centene would pay it $57 million for overcharging for the children’s medical services and then provide $10 million to Hope Florida – which aimed to reduce Floridians’ reliance on government services by partnering with private companies. Although a former official in Florida’s attorney general’s office expressed skepticism over the settlement, then-Attorney General Ashley Moody – who now serves as a senator from Florida – authorized the former official to sign it. Two nonprofits then requested a $5 million grant from Hope Florida. One was Secure Florida’s Future, a business advocacy organization associated with the Florida Chamber of Commerce. The other was Save Our Society From Drugs, which advocates for stricter regulation of drugs including marijuana. Both groups then distributed funds to Keep Florida Clean, a now-disbanded PAC run by Governor DeSantis’s then-chief of staff James Uthmeier – who now serves as Florida’s Attorney General. Subsequently, $5 million went to the Republican Party of Florida while $1.2 million went to Florida Freedom Fund, another PAC run by Uthmeier. Ultimately, that money was used to lobby against a marijuana legalization ballot initiative known as Amendment 3, the grand jury found. Although the grand jury’s report concluded that “these funds were misappropriated as part of a sophisticated scheme to fund political activities,” it declined to push for criminal charges. The grand jurors said “nobody will take responsibility” for deciding to misappropriate $10 million to Hope Florida, and that no witness could point to a person. Neither DeSantis, Uthmeier nor Moody were called to testify before the grand jury. “While we can't prove who is responsible, 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,” the grand jury report concluded. Alex Lanfranconi, the communications director for Governor DeSantis, called the reported grand jury findings a “baseless smear” that “has been debunked over and over again.” “In fact, if any confidential grand jury report was leaked to the press, that’s the only crime committed,” Lanfranconi added. While speaking with reporters Thursday, Uthmeier dismissed the report as a “politically motivated witch hunt driven by the Democrats and a far-left Democrat state attorney in Tallahassee.” Uthmeier said he was not permitted to comment on the report but “if it is indeed true… there was no probable cause found that anybody did anything wrong… and it shows that the Democrats had to collude with the press to break the law and release a document that is not allowed to be released under law.” “I don’t think we have anything to worry about here,” Uthmeier added. In a statement on X, Moody said her former office was not involved in the original settlement negotiations or how the funds would be dispersed and that it was “standard practice” for her office to sign off on it. “The AG’s office had no knowledge of how funds would be spent or played any role in how Hope Florida, AHCA, or the legislature would spend the settlement money. Attempts to characterize this any other way are disingenuous,” Moody wrote. Instead of holding individuals responsible for the “misappropriated” funds, the grand jury recommended that the Florida legislature enact a law to prevent the situation from occurring by requiring any money received by the state to be deposited into General Revenue. It also called on the Florida legislature to set clear requirements for how direct support organizations, such as Hope Florida, can use taxpayer funds, track their use and provide consequences for misused funds. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments