Latest news with #AlexAndrade
CBS News
21 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
New revelations about Hope Florida Foundation scandal come to light
CBS News Miami's Jim DeFede goes one-on-one with Republican State Rep. Alex Andrade about the Hope Florida Foundation scandal. Stunning new revelations are brought to light, including a call by Representative Andrade for Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier to resign. Andrade, who led the House hearings on Hope Florida, and exposed what was really happening, tells DeFede why. Guest: State Rep. Alex Andrade/2nd District
CBS News
25-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
State Rep. Alex Andrade on DeSantis' comments about Hope Florida Foundation backlash
Hope Florida Foundation There is now a criminal investigation into DeSantis' decision to divert $10 million from a Medicaid settlement to the Hope Florida Foundation, money that eventually ended up in a political action committee he controlled. Republican State Representative Alex Andrade has been the driving force behind the weeks of hearings in the Florida House, the findings of which he turned over to both the U.S. Justice Department and the Leon County State Attorney. DeSantis denies his administration did anything wrong, defended his wife's work with Hope Florida and blasted Andrade during a news conference this week. Jim talks to State Rep. Andrade about that, and he talks to former Palm Beach State Attorney Dave Aronberg, about what's next. Guests: State Rep. Alex Andrade/R- District 2 Dave Aronberg/Fmr. Palm Beach State Attorney About this issue Prosecutors have opened an investigation related to the Hope Florida Foundation, the nonprofit behind the welfare program that has been touted as the signature achievement of first lady Casey DeSantis. A public records custodian in the office of Second Judicial Circuit State Attorney Jack Campbell confirmed the existence of "an open, on-going investigation" Tuesday in response to a records request from The Associated Press. The investigation was first reported by the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times. Questioned by reporters at an event Tuesday in Tampa highlighting the work of Hope Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis defended the initiative, which uses state employees to help connect Floridians in need with faith institutions and community-based nonprofits and wean them off government assistance. "I believe in this program deeply and I stand by it 100%," DeSantis said. "This is a rewiring of the way that government operates," the first lady said.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DeSantis calls state attorney's Hope Florida probe ‘political'
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday there was 'no basis' for local prosecutors to open an investigation related to the state's Hope Florida Foundation and called the Republican lawmaker who provided documents to the state attorney's office a 'jackass.' In his most substantive remarks since the Herald/Times broke the news Tuesday that Leon County prosecutors had an open criminal investigation into the state-run charity overseen by his administration, DeSantis said he was more committed to Hope Florida than ever. He lashed out in particular at Rep. Alex Andrade, the Pensacola Republican who led a House committee probe into Hope Florida and its charity arm, the Hope Florida Foundation. The program and the charity were envisioned by first lady Casey DeSantis to move Floridians off state welfare by connecting them to churches and nonprofits that can offer them help. Last month, Andrade turned over records to the Department of Justice and the 2nd Judicial Circuit State Attorney's office, a decision DeSantis said was 'political.' 'He took documents and he dropped them in a prosecutor's office,' DeSantis said. 'That is not an organic investigation, that's a manufactured political operation.' 'There is no basis to do an investigation on these facts,' he added. 'Everybody knows it.' Andrade stood by his decision. 'Calling me names won't change the fact that his chief of staff engaged in money laundering and wire fraud,' Andrade told the Herald/Times. 'The man is spiraling and I feel bad for him.' Over the last two months, Andrade and news reporters have been digging into the DeSantis administration's decision to steer $10 million from a settlement with a Medicaid contractor to the Hope Florida Foundation. The foundation, within days, gave it away to two nonprofits, which then sent at least $8.5 million to a political committee controlled by DeSantis' then-chief of staff, James Uthmeier. The committee was created to defeat last year's ballot initiative legalizing recreational marijuana. State Attorney Jack Campbell— whose office serves six counties including Leon, where Tallahassee is — told the Herald/Times last month that lawmakers were free to give his office evidence of a crime, noting that some of them were 'great lawyers' and former prosecutors. 'I'm confident if they feel they have evidence of a crime, they know how to find me,' Campbell said at the time. 'That's kind of where I am.' When the Herald/Times requested any records that prosecutors received from Andrade, Campbell's office said Tuesday it was 'part of an open, on-going investigation.' Campbell, a Democrat, has declined to comment on the investigation, and it's not known who is leading it. Andrade has accused Uthmeier, who is now Florida's attorney general, and a lawyer working for the foundation of committing 'conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud' and misusing $10 million in Medicaid dollars by spending it on political advertising. Four former federal prosecutors interviewed by the Herald/Times said Andrade could be on strong legal ground. They identified eight potential federal crimes that could have been violated, including theft of government funds and money laundering. DeSantis has denied that the money was Medicaid-related damages and said the investigation is a political operation intended to damage the first lady, who is rumored to be considering running to replace her term-limited husband. 'You have one jackass in the Legislature — I'm sorry, it's true — who's trying to smear her,' DeSantis said. 'I'm more committed to Hope Florida than I've ever been,' he added. Herald/Times Tallahassee bureau reporter Alexandra Glorioso contributed to this report.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Waiting for help: More than 21K of Floridians with developmental disabilities stuck in backlog
The Brief Over 21,000 of Florida's most vulnerable citizens have been waitlisted despite needing critical care. Many with developmental disabilities qualify for home support services through a program called the iBudget Waiver. The agency that runs the service blames the backlog on a lack of funds. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - More than 21,000 of Florida's most vulnerable citizens need help but do not receive it due to a backlog in the state government. The backstory They have developmental disabilities and qualify for home support services through Medicaid under a program called the iBudget Waiver. It currently serves more than 35,000 enrollees but has a waitlist of more than 21,000 others. The average wait has been eight and a half years. Florida's Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) manages the backlog, tying it to a lack of funds. READ: Pasco County Animal Services suspends dog adoptions after respiratory disease outbreak It would cost around $1.2 billion to get everyone off the waitlist. Families on the waitlist note they have waited for help as the state received large surpluses in revenue and placed billions of dollars in reserve. At the same time, the legislature specifically allocated millions to APD to reduce the waitlist. However, it has not gone down and APD did not spend much of the money it received. What they're saying "$360 million is being recommended to revert reappropriate this year when we've appropriated an average of $88 million over the past four years to pull people off the waitlist," said Escambia State Rep. Alex Andrade during a Florida House subcommittee hearing on March 12. READ: Controversial gun bill moves through Florida legislature following deadly FSU shooting APD did not spend $360 million, and it was allocated to reduce the backlog because managers say that people already being served may have growing needs and they don't want to run out of money. Dig deeper Former APD leader Jim DeBeaugrine said APD should not be concerned about that because the state projects the needs of current enrollees for the future and accordingly budgets for those needs. If APD had spent the $360 million as lawmakers intended, there would also have been a larger share of matching federal funds, totaling more than $800 million. "At some point, you need some services to help you, and I'm doing the job of a lot of people," said Yasmina Halim. CLICK HERE:>>>Follow FOX 13 on YouTube Her 12-year-old daughter Lily is developmentally disabled and terminally ill. Struggling as she waited, Halim made the painful decision to give up her place in line and place her daughter in institutional care (which could cost taxpayers more than the home-based support she was waiting for). However, due to the complexity of Lily's health, the scale of her disabilities and a shortage of service providers, they were unable to find an institution that would accept her. Big picture view The state then agreed to provide home-based services based on her crisis. Other families with pressing needs fail to get out of the queue due to the crisis. The Source FOX 13 Chief Political Investigator Craig Patrick collected the information in this story. WATCH FOX 13 NEWS: STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hope Florida Foundation meeting includes warning on tax status
Joshua Hay, President of the Hope Florida Foundation Inc. (Screenshot from Florida Channel) A top Florida Republican warned Thursday that the Hope Florida Foundation could lose its tax exempt status if two $5 million payments the foundation made to other nonprofit groups wound up with a political committee opposing legalization of marijuana. Rep. Alex Andrade made the remarks to board members during a virtual meeting Thursday. He also said he was glad the foundation board was addressing its delinquent paperwork, including making its IRS form 990 available for the public to review. 'But going forward right now, the circumstances, 80% of all the funds you've received, more than that, that you've dispensed, were used for political purposes, and I believe that will jeopardize your 501C3 status if you as the board do not take the proper steps to recoup those funds,' the Pensacola legislator said. Andrade's warning came during a rancorous public comment portion of the meeting in which people on the chat broadcast Nazi symbols, racial slurs and pornography. Unable to control the flow of images or sounds being shared, the foundation board agreed to recess. The board was scheduled to reconvene late Thursday. The board posted a link on its website apologizing for the disruption and said the Department of Children and Families was 'actively working with law enforcement on the incident.' Following the abbreviated meeting, Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried called on the Department of Justice to investigate. She also urged Jack Campbell, the state attorney for the Tallahassee area, who is a Democrat, to do the same. 'I do think that it's appropriate for Jack Campbell to start looking into some of these actions,' Fried said in a virtual press conference with reporters, adding that she had not personally spoken to him about it. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX I believe that will jeopardize your 501C3 status if you as the board do not take the proper steps to recoup those funds. – Rep. Alex Andrade Hope Florida is an initiative launched by First Lady Casey DeSantis to help steer people off public assistance programs using state agency staff. Hope Florida Foundation is a not-for-profit direct support organization for the Department of Children and Families, which helps to administer the Hope Florida program. Hope Florida Foundation's finances have come under scrutiny following a Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times report that it paid $5 million apiece to two organizations that then contributed to Keep Florida Clean, a political committee that worked to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana. The $10 million payment to the two groups mirrors the amount the Hope Florida Foundation received from health care giant Centene as part of a settlement regarding overpayment of Medicaid pharmacy benefits and services. Health care giant Centene writes a $10M check to Hope Florida Foundation DeSantis: $10M payment to Hope Florida Foundation is a 'cherry on top' Gov. Ron DeSantis has cried foul, accusing the House of working with the liberal media to smear the first lady's reputation as she potentially prepares for a gubernatorial run to replace her husband, who is being forced out of office due to term limits. Leading the financial review in the House is Andrade, who has held two meetings over the last two weeks with high ranking Hope Florida officials and agency heads. Hope Florida Foundation president Joshua Hay kicked off Thursday's meeting by announcing that Jake Farmer, a registered lobbyist for Walgreens Co., had resigned from the board of directors. Hay did not disclose when Farmer resigned and the Department of Children and Families didn't immediately respond to Florida Phoenix's request for his resignation letter. Farmer did not return Florida Phoenix's phone call asking about his resignation. Hay announced that Wendy Nissan had been appointed to the board of directors. The meeting was interrupted before the board could publicly discuss its IRS 990. The form shows that two state-contracted Medicaid managed care plans that were vying for lucrative new contracts made contributions to the Hope Florida Foundation. The contracts are the largest of their kind for the state and, according to the House of Representatives, the managed care plans will be paid $143 billion over the next six years to provide health care to the state's poor, elderly, and disabled who rely on Medicaid for their health care. The tax form shows that the Hope Florida Foundation received contributions from Simply Healthcare Plans and Centene of $98,408 and $95,223, respectively. The state Agency for Health Care Administration has announced plans to award new contracts in April and a second round of announcements in July. The decisions expanded statewide Simply Healthcare's footprint in the Medicaid managed care marketplace. The new contracts contain a requirement for the plans to work with the Hope Florida program and report information about their members to Hope Florida. The IRS 990 form doesn't list the dates contributions were made, only the time frame. The board meeting capped a week of headlines for the foundation, a direct service organization for the Department of Children and Families as well as the Hope Florida program. Hope Florida executive director Erik Dellenback is stepping down from his post as well as his position as chair of the Florida Faith and Community Advisory Council. Dellenback's resignation was submitted in March and takes effect in May. Dellenback, though, did not mention his resignation during a lengthy House budget committee meeting in which he testified along with Hay and Department of Children and Families Secretary Taylor Hatch. The resignation was first reported following the meeting. Hay was accompanied by his own attorney at the House meeting. During his sworn testimony, Hay acknowledged that the Hope Florida Foundation had made mistakes by not filing its required paperwork. He also testified that he's been working with Tallahassee attorney Mohammad Jazil on completing the paperwork. Jazil, who frequently represents state agencies and advises Keep Florida Clean, was recommended to him by attorney Jeff Aaron, Hay told the House committee. Aaron is a Republican attorney who successfully defended the governor in the lawsuit filed by suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren. 'Jeff Aaron connected you with Mohammad Jazil, the attorney for Keep Florida Clean, to help Hope Florida's foundation in complying with the paperwork, to retroactively justify this payment. Is that what I am hearing right now? Members, I am sorry, I am a little flabbergasted at this revelation,' Andrade said at the meeting. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
