‘Open’ Investigation Confirmed Amid Hope Florida Scrutiny

By Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida

TALLAHASSEE — Records related to a state House probe of a nonprofit linked to First Lady Casey DeSantis’ signature Hope Florida assistance program are part of an “open” investigation, Leon County State Attorney Jack Campbell’s office said Tuesday.

House Health Care Budget Chairman Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, submitted records to Campbell’s office late last month after concluding a House inquiry into the Hope Florida Foundation, a nonprofit linked to the Hope Florida program.

Andrade spent weeks scrutinizing the foundation’s receipt of $10 million as part of a $67 million legal settlement that Centene, Florida’s largest Medicaid managed-care company, reached last fall with the Agency for Health Care Administration.

After receiving the money from the settlement, the foundation gave $5 million grants to Secure Florida’s Future, a nonprofit tied to the Florida Chamber of Commerce, and Save our Society from Drugs.

The groups within days made contributions to Keep Florida Clean, a political committee headed by James Uthmeier, who was then Ron DeSantis’ chief of staff and is now state attorney general. Keep Florida Clean fought a proposed constitutional amendment in November that would have allowed recreational use of marijuana.

Andrade, an attorney, has accused Uthmeier and Jeff Aaron, a lawyer who represents the foundation and has close ties to the DeSantis administration, of violating the law with the settlement and the foundation’s subsequent grants.

An Uthmeier spokesman and Aaron last month blasted the accusations, with Aaron in a social-media post raising the possibility of a defamation lawsuit.

DeSantis and the first lady have vigorously defended the Hope Florida program, which operates through numerous state agencies and, in part, serves as a referral service to churches and other private entities that can offer assistance to families seeking aid. The governor also suggested that Casey DeSantis, who is mulling a possible run for governor next year, is being targeted because critics “view her as a threat.”

Andrade said Tuesday he provided documentation to Campbell’s office in late April. Andrade announced on April 24 that his budget panel had finalized its probe of the settlement.

Campbell, state attorney in the 2nd Judicial Circuit, would not say whether his office — which covers Leon, Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Liberty and Wakulla counties — is investigating anything related to the foundation or the Medicaid settlement.

“No comment,” Campbell said, when contacted by The News Service of Florida.

The records are “part of an open, on-going investigation,” Lori Abbey, Campbell’s public records administrator, said in an email. The investigation was first reported Tuesday by the Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Capital Bureau, which has written extensively about Hope Florida and the foundation.

“I cannot verify what information is contained or referenced within the investigation. Also, I cannot verify how any information has been provided to this office,” Abbey said.

The governor and first lady held a news conference in Tampa to tout the Hope Florida program, as they have repeatedly done over the past few weeks.

“Based on what?” DeSantis said when asked about an investigation by Campbell’s office. “Well, I can tell you this has been a very successful program … and I think everything that’s been thrown at it has been pure politics. … I believe in this program deeply, and I stand by it 100 percent.”

Contacted Tuesday, Andrade did not say whether Campbell’s office is conducting a criminal probe into the records he provided.

“I’m not in a position to comment on what law enforcement is or isn’t doing. I’m convinced that crimes occurred, and I believe those engaged in public corruption should face justice. Whether they ever face justice is up to law enforcement,” Andrade said in a text message.