21-05-2025
Govoni given ‘final, final' chance to avoid criminal contempt of court charge
TAMPA — It's been more than a year since Rebekah Bowman learned that $850,000 was missing from the medical trust fund set up for her developmentally delayed son, Kienan Freeman.
On Wednesday, she and her son made the 135-mile trip from their Cape Coral home to the federal courthouse in Tampa hoping to see Leo Govoni, the Clearwater businessman accused in court of taking $100 million from trust funds, including Kienan's, sent to jail for contempt of court.
But Govoni remained a free man Wednesday and approached Bowman and her son after the hearing. Before she could react, he leaned in and gave her a hug and told her the missing money is 'not what she thinks it is,' she said.
She replied back that he had broken his promise to take care of her son's money.
'I'm shaken up right now,' Bowman said in an interview. 'He knows what he did.'
Govoni still faces the threat of jail for not complying with court orders to produce personal and business records. Federal bankruptcy Judge Roberta Colton, who found Govoni in contempt on April 28, said she will decide whether to refer his case to federal district court for criminal contempt proceedings at a 'final final hearing' on June 12.
The Center for Special Needs Trust Administration, which Govoni founded, filed for bankruptcy in February 2024 after officials found paperwork showing a $100 million loan had been made to his company, Boston Finance Group. It was never repaid, leaving the families of disabled and injured people with with no money for medical and living expenses.
Govoni lived a lavish lifestyle after the loan was approved, records show. He flew friends on his $3.4 million private jet to watch the Kentucky Derby from his executive suite at Churchill Downs. He doled out hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to politicians.
Colton in January ruled that Govoni is liable for the missing money. He is also under investigation by the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
John Dicks, an attorney working for the bankruptcy estate, told Colton during the hearing that Govoni has failed to disclose what he did with the proceeds of roughly $5 million in real estate sales made since November 2021.
'There's been no information at all and no effort,' he said. 'It's like pulling teeth to get any of this.'
Buddy Ford, an attorney representing Govoni, did file a tranche of documents one day before the hearing. He told Colton that progress is being made. He has also subpoenaed Joanne Golden, a Pinellas realtor who is the wife of Jonathan Golden, Govoni's former business attorney.
Dicks said he hadn't had time to review them all but said there are still many records missing, including an information sheet detailing Govoni's personal finances and one for Boston Finance.
The hearing came one day after a Pinellas court judge said he will issue orders requiring the repayment of trust fund money that was transferred from Boston Finance to other Govoni companies. That includes $16 million that was wired to Big Storm Brewing, the craft beer business Govoni ran with his son LJ Govoni.
In another effort to recover assets, Colton on Wednesday also approved the sale of a warehouse at 610 Charlotte St. in Punta Gorda owned by Big Storm Real Estate. However, since the purchase was financed through a seller-financed mortgage, the proceeds will only amount to about $173,000.
A portion of that money will be made available to families facing urgent medical needs, said Megan Murray, an attorney with Underwood Murray who is representing those owed money by the center.
Bowman said she met Govoni in 2004 soon after he son, received an $800,000 award and an annual annuity from the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. He had suffered severe seizures after receiving a vaccine when he was 18 months old that affected his development. He relies on a wheelchair and has limited verbal skills.
The award and annuity are intended to pay for her son's care for the rest of his life. Freeman is 27.
'(Govoni) portrayed himself as being very nice and kind and gentle,' Bowman said. 'He promised that he would take care of the money and help us to grow it.'
Like more than 1,500 other families, Bowman received a letter in February 2024 informing her that their trust fund had been compromised and that the center was filing for bankruptcy. There was $200,000 left in the trust, she said.
'It impacts everything,' Bowman said. 'We are blessed in that we had some money. But there are people in this that have zero. They have nothing.'
