Money recovered through a Florida Medicaid settlement passed through the Hope Florida Foundation and into political committees. The grand jury determined someone misused the money, but it could not identify who made the original decision.
A Florida grand jury reached an extraordinary conclusion: State officials misappropriated $10 million in taxpayer money that ultimately financed political activity surrounding the 2024 election. Nobody was charged—not because the grand jury determined the transaction was proper, but because investigators could not prove who made the original decision to send part of a Medicaid settlement to the Hope Florida Foundation, a nonprofit associated with an initiative championed by First Lady Casey DeSantis.
According to the report, witnesses who might have explained the decision either denied responsibility or said they could not remember who made it. “Despite our finding that the money was misappropriated, we find insufficient evidence to charge anyone criminally,” the grand jury concluded.
The report was completed in January and remained under seal until CBS News Miami obtained and published a copy in August. Gov. Ron DeSantis has not disputed the document’s authenticity, but he maintains that no laws were broken and has warned that whoever disclosed the sealed report could face consequences. That controversy does not change the report’s central finding: Public money recovered through a Medicaid settlement was diverted through a charitable foundation and ultimately used for political purposes.
A $67 million Medicaid settlement
The money originated with a dispute involving Centene Corp., one of Florida’s largest Medicaid contractors. Florida determined that Centene had overcharged the state for prescription-drug services provided through Medicaid, and the company ultimately agreed to a settlement valued at approximately $67 million.
The grand jury rejected the administration’s characterization of the $10 million sent to Hope Florida as a separate charitable “bonus.” It found that the entire settlement represented reimbursement owed to Florida taxpayers. “This money was part of the damages Centene owed to Florida taxpayers,” the report stated.
Early settlement drafts reportedly directed substantially all the money to the state, but that changed rapidly in September 2024. A September 12 draft allocated $62 million to the state and $5 million to the Hope Florida Foundation. One day later, the foundation’s portion doubled: $57 million would go to the state and $10 million to Hope Florida.
The grand jury found no documented explanation for why the foundation’s share increased by $5 million overnight. It also could not determine who ordered the change because no witness accepted responsibility for the decision. “Nobody will take responsibility for deciding the $10 million of taxpayer money would go to Hope Florida,” the report said. That missing decision-maker became the principal obstacle preventing criminal charges.
Money moved as an election approached
The timing concerned the grand jury. The settlement was finalized in late September 2024, as Florida responded to Hurricane Helene and voters prepared to decide Amendment 3, a proposed constitutional amendment that would have legalized recreational marijuana for adults.
DeSantis strongly opposed the amendment. James Uthmeier, then the governor’s chief of staff, chaired Keep Florida Clean, a political committee organized to defeat it. Centene transferred $10 million to the Hope Florida Foundation on October 4, and within approximately 25 days, the foundation had distributed all of it through two $5 million grants.
Secure Florida’s Future, an organization affiliated with the Florida Chamber of Commerce, received one grant. Save Our Society From Drugs received the other. Their applications represented that the money would support nonpolitical activities associated with Hope Florida, but the grand jury found that both organizations mischaracterized how the grants would be used.
Approximately $8.5 million soon reached Keep Florida Clean. From there, the report traced $7 million to the Republican Party of Florida and approximately $1.23 million to the Florida Freedom Fund, another political committee associated with Uthmeier. The money supported political activity opposing Amendment 3, which failed to receive the 60% vote required for adoption. The grand jury described the underlying arrangement as part of “a sophisticated scheme to fund political activities.”
Decisions made during hurricane responses
The report describes a rushed approval process unfolding as Florida faced two major hurricanes. On September 27, the day after Hurricane Helene made landfall, Florida Department of Health Chief of Staff Cassandra Pasley was asked to sign a settlement she had not previously reviewed. Pasley reportedly testified that she would not have signed it had she known the money would eventually reach political committees.
Centene transferred the money to Hope Florida shortly before Hurricane Milton struck Florida on October 9. Two days later, Uthmeier contacted Amy Ronshausen, executive director of Save Our Society From Drugs, and directed her organization to apply for a Hope Florida grant, according to the grand jury’s timeline.
The settlement moved from execution to payment in seven days. The grand jury suggested the approaching election explained the urgency, noting that Election Day was only about 45 days away when the agreement was finalized.
Hope Florida provided little oversight
Hope Florida was created as a state initiative intended to connect financially struggling families with churches, nonprofit organizations and community assistance. The associated Hope Florida Foundation received a $10 million payment worth more than 10 times what it had raised during the previous fiscal year.
Despite the size of the payment, the grand jury found little evidence of meaningful oversight before the foundation distributed it. The two organizations received $5 million each, with one application reportedly approved within hours. There were no effective restrictions preventing political use, no adequate monitoring of the grants and no apparent effort to determine how the recipients would spend the money.
Joshua Hay, the foundation’s chairman, reportedly testified that he believed the grants would assist hurricane victims. Instead, most of the money entered Florida’s political system.
The grand jury also questioned broader claims about Hope Florida’s effectiveness. Its report said jurors were unable to obtain evidence substantiating representations about the program’s success. Some witnesses described Hope Florida as a concept without a clearly understood structure or operation.
Officials were positioned around the decision—but not charged
The grand jury identified several senior officials whose offices participated in or exercised authority over parts of the transaction. Its report said Uthmeier was “in a position of authority” over people involved in settling the Centene dispute, and his political committee became the principal recipient of the money that passed through the two nonprofit organizations.
The report also concluded that then-Attorney General Ashley Moody knew of the plan to divert part of the settlement and authorized Chief Deputy Attorney General John Guard to sign it. Guard reportedly expressed reservations about whether directing state settlement proceeds to a private foundation without legislative authorization complied with Florida law. DeSantis later appointed him to the Second District Court of Appeal.
Moody, now a U.S. senator, says her office was one of several agencies that approved the settlement and did not know how Hope Florida or the eventual recipients would spend the money. Uthmeier, now Florida’s attorney general, has called renewed attention to the report a politically motivated hoax and emphasized that he was not indicted.
DeSantis, Moody and Uthmeier were not called to testify before the grand jury. That fact does not establish that any of them committed a crime, but it leaves unanswered why an investigation unable to identify the original decision-maker concluded without testimony from several officials positioned closest to the transaction.
No charges does not mean no wrongdoing
The absence of an indictment is likely to become the administration’s central defense, but insufficient evidence to charge is not equivalent to a finding that the money was properly handled.
A criminal case requires evidence establishing the responsibility and intent of a particular defendant beyond a reasonable doubt. The grand jury said it could not meet that standard because no witness accepted responsibility for the initial diversion or identified who ordered it. Its factual conclusion was nevertheless direct: The money belonged to Florida taxpayers, it was misappropriated and it was used for political purposes.
The grand jury recommended legislation requiring all money received by the state to be deposited into the General Revenue Fund. It also called for clearer rules, monitoring and penalties governing how foundations connected to state programs receive and distribute taxpayer money. Those recommendations address future transactions, but they do not explain what happened to the $10 million already spent.
The questions that remain
The grand jury report answers where much of the money went. It does not establish who first decided to send it there. Florida officials should therefore identify who introduced Hope Florida into the Centene settlement, who directed that its share increase from $5 million to $10 million and why the payment was not deposited into the state treasury.
The Governor’s Office should disclose what it knew before the settlement was signed and explain why Uthmeier directed a nonprofit organization to apply for one of the grants. Moody and her former senior staff should explain what they understood about the transaction, while prosecutors should address why DeSantis, Moody and Uthmeier were not called to testify.
Additional questions concern who sought to keep the grand jury’s findings sealed and whether any portion of the money can be recovered. DeSantis has emphasized the potential illegality of leaking grand-jury material, but that issue is separate from the conduct documented in the report.
Florida taxpayers are still entitled to know how money recovered for them entered a political campaign—and why every official in a position to explain the original decision apparently could not. The grand jury could not identify someone it could charge, but the public should not accept that as the end of the investigation.
Sources & Editorial Note
This article is based on a copy of the Leon County grand-jury report obtained and published by CBS News Miami, government and campaign-finance records described in that report, official statements and reporting available through August 28, 2026.
Grand-jury reports contain findings and recommendations but are not criminal convictions. The grand jury found that the $10 million was misappropriated and used for political purposes while also finding insufficient evidence to charge a particular person. State of Disorder has not independently established that any named individual committed a crime. Every person discussed in connection with potential criminal conduct is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Primary and supporting sources:
- Copy and detailed analysis of the Hope Florida grand-jury report, published by the Florida Trident
- CBS News Miami’s original reporting on the leaked grand-jury report
- Associated Press reporting on the findings and responses from DeSantis, Uthmeier and Moody
- Associated Press timeline of the Centene settlement and Hope Florida controversy
State of Disorder is preparing public-records requests seeking settlement drafts, approval records, communications, payment instructions and other documents capable of identifying how Hope Florida entered the agreement and who authorized the $10 million allocation. This article will be updated if additional records, court orders or official responses become available.
