Florida Grand Jury Finds DeSantis Administration Misappropriated $10 Million, No One Charged

A Florida grand jury found that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration misappropriated $10 million from a Medicaid settlement by directing the money to the Hope Florida Foundation, where most of it later reached political groups. No one was criminally charged because jurors said they could not determine who made the original decision to send the taxpayer money to the foundation.

The investigation centered on Florida’s $67 million settlement with Centene Corporation over claims involving the company’s pharmacy benefit management practices in the state Medicaid program. The grand jury completed its report in January, but the findings became public in August after news organizations obtained copies.

Centene offered Florida $67,048,611 in February 2023 to resolve potential liability. When officials finalized the agreement in September 2024, approximately $57 million was directed to the state and $10 million to Hope Florida, a foundation connected to an assistance initiative championed by first lady Casey DeSantis.

Hope Florida then awarded $5 million each to Secure Florida’s Future and Save Our Society From Drugs. Financial records reviewed by the grand jury showed the organizations transferred a combined $8.5 million to Keep Florida Clean, a political committee chaired by James Uthmeier, who was DeSantis’ chief of staff at the time and is now Florida attorney general.

Keep Florida Clean helped finance opposition to Amendment 3, the unsuccessful 2024 ballot measure that sought to legalize recreational marijuana. Jurors concluded that the two organizations mischaracterized how the Hope Florida grants would be used and described the movement of the money as part of a sophisticated effort to fund political activity.

The grand jury also rejected the administration’s characterization of the $10 million as a separate bonus from Centene. Jurors found that the full settlement represented money owed to Florida taxpayers and that the Hope Florida payment was carved out of those proceeds.

Florida law restricts how executive agencies may handle money recovered for the state. Section 216.216 generally requires settlement proceeds to be deposited into the General Revenue Fund or an appropriate trust fund and limits how agencies can spend that money without legislative approval.

Those restrictions preserve the Legislature’s authority over state spending. Reaching a settlement on Florida’s behalf does not ordinarily give an executive agency separate power to decide where recovered public money will go.

Jurors found that directing $10 million to Hope Florida was intended to get around those requirements. The report also found that former Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Jason Weida reduced an approximately $10.8 million portion of the proposed settlement to exactly $10 million to avoid requirements under another Florida law governing large settlements involving executive agencies.

The investigation separately considered whether the handling of the money could support criminal theft charges. Florida theft law generally requires proof that someone knowingly obtained, transferred, or used property with the intent to deprive its owner of it or give it to someone who was not entitled to use it.

A finding that public money was misappropriated does not establish criminal responsibility by itself. Prosecutors would still need evidence identifying the person responsible for the improper transfer and showing that person acted with the intent required under the criminal law.

Jurors said that evidence was missing. The report concluded that the original misappropriation occurred when the decision was made to send the $10 million to Hope Florida, but witnesses either did not accept responsibility for the decision or could not identify who made it. The grand jury therefore found insufficient evidence to criminally charge anyone.

Uthmeier was identified as holding authority over officials involved in the Centene settlement, and testimony connected him to decisions involving the money after it reached Hope Florida. Jurors did not identify him as the person who made the original decision to direct the settlement funds to the foundation.

DeSantis has maintained that the settlement arrangement was lawful. Uthmeier has denied wrongdoing and criticized scrutiny surrounding the report. Former Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, now a U.S. senator, has said her office was one of several state agencies involved in the settlement.

The findings are now prompting efforts to tighten Florida law. Republican state Sen. Don Gaetz said he is working with Democratic lawmakers on legislation that would clarify that state settlement money cannot be diverted to outside organizations and could establish criminal penalties for violations.

Federal lawmakers are also seeking a separate review. U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor and Darren Soto asked federal health officials on Aug. 31 to investigate whether the handling of the Centene settlement complied with federal Medicaid requirements and to determine who was responsible for directing the money away from the state.

No criminal charges resulted from the Florida grand jury investigation. The panel recommended stronger controls over state settlement proceeds and organizations receiving taxpayer funds, while state lawmakers are considering legislative changes and federal officials have been asked to conduct a separate review.