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Miami Herald
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Group that got $5M from Hope Florida spent it without board knowing, chairman says
One of the nonprofits that received millions from a Medicaid settlement steered through a Hope Florida charity by the DeSantis administration took in and spent the money without the knowledge of its Board of Directors, the group's chairman wrote Wednesday in a resignation letter. James Holton said publicly for the first time in his letter that the board he served on at Save Our Society from Drugs was unaware that its executive director was passing $5 million through the organization and into a political committee fighting against a campaign to legalize recreational marijuana. He said he learned about it in the media. Holton also revealed for the first time that the executive director, Amy Ronshausen, had been suspended, a fact corroborated by Ronshausen in her own whistle blower complaint over what she claims was retaliation. Holton's resignation letter and Ronshausen's May 7 complaint were obtained by the Herald/Times on Thursday. The St. Petersburg-based organization is now considering reinstating Ronshausen, according to Holton's resignation letter. Neither Holton nor Ronshausen immediately responded to a request for comment. Ronshausen, who wrote that she was suspended with pay from her job on April 22, has maintained that she was coerced into sharing information about the Hope Florida Foundation grant with a Republican lawmaker who has been investigating how $10 million from a larger settlement with a Medicaid contractor was funneled through the Foundation to two nonprofits. Those nonprofits, Save Our Society from Drugs and Secure Florida's Future, then donated millions to Keep Florida Clean, the anti-marijuana political committee led by Gov. Ron DeSantis' then-chief of staff, James Uthmeier. The lawmaker investigating the issue, Republican state Rep. Alex Andrade, has said he uncovered a 'conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud.' It's illegal to divert federal money like Medicaid. It's also against IRS rules for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit like the Foundation to spend a significant portion of its money on political causes, as is being alleged. DeSantis and Uthmeier, now Florida's attorney general, have dismissed Andrade's allegations as a smear campaign. On Wednesday, first lady Casey DeSantis, who spearheaded the Hope Florida program, said she has been undeterred by 'slanderous, false accusations.' Ronshausen has said that Andrade has mischaracterized their conversation about the organization's grant from the Hope Florida Foundation to exaggerate Uthmeier's involvement in the movement of the money. Andrade says Ronshausen's accusation is untrue. She also alleged in her complaint to Holton that her suspension as executive director was part of a retaliation campaign for activities that included her communication with Andrade and her objections to hiring outside attorneys that had worked for one of Florida's medical marijuana dispensaries. In his letter, Holton objected to bringing back Ronshausen and said he was resigning from the board after consulting with his lawyer. He said he appreciated the board wanting to reinstate Ronshausen to put the matter behind them and to 'avoid the need for litigation,' an apparent nod to Ronshausen's complaint. 'I also believe it is just not prudent or good governance to reinstate Amy prior to the completion of a full forensic audit by a third-party auditor and completion of any possible investigation by law enforcement and the Florida House of Representatives,' Holton wrote. He added: 'Such a premature reinstatement, in my opinion, could subject SOS, the Board and all Board members individually to additional scrutiny by various governmental bodies and may expose individual Board members to personal liability.' Holton is an attorney based in Tampa. He has been appointed by governors to several public boards, including by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the Southwest Florida Water Management District in 2023. Andrade told the Herald/Times that it is significant that Holton revealed that Save Our Society from Drugs' board was unaware of its role passing the money from the Hope Florida Foundation to the political committee that fought the marijuana amendment. A Hope Florida Foundation board meeting in April revealed that its own board members didn't know where the $10 million that passed through their organization came from or whether it was public money. Andrade told the Herald/Times there was no board vote on either $5 million grant proposal from Save Our Society from Drugs or Secure Florida's Future, a nonprofit controlled by the Florida Chamber of Commerce. 'The fact that these grants were kept from the SOS board the same way they were kept from the Foundation board further implicates the individuals who knew what was going on,' Andrade said in a text message. 'Who on earth would hide a $5,000,000 grant from the Governor's office from their own board?'
Miami Herald
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Florida House ending Hope Florida investigation after witnesses decline to testify
House lawmakers are ending their probe into Gov. Ron DeSantis' Hope Florida Foundation without hearing testimony from the organization's lawyer or leaders of two groups that got $5 million grants from the charity. Rep. Alex Andrade, the Pensacola Republican who has been spearheading the investigation, said Thursday that he believed Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and the charity's lawyer, Jeff Aaron, committed criminal acts when they moved $10 million from a Medicaid overbilling settlement to the foundation. The foundation gave the money to two other nonprofits, which then gave $8.5 million to a political committee controlled by Uthmeier. But Andrade said his committee wouldn't be the ones to prosecute them. The legislative session is scheduled to end next week. 'While I'm firmly convinced that James Uthmeier and Jeff Aaron engaged in a conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud, and that several parties played a role in the misuse of $10 million in Medicaid funds, we as legislators will not be the ones making the ultimate charging decisions,' Andrade told lawmakers Thursday. 'I believe our work on this topic in this capacity as a subcommittee will be concluded,' he added. The $10 million came from the state Medicaid contractor Centene as part of a $67 million legal settlement for overbilling for prescription drugs. State officials 'directed' the company in September to donate the money to the Hope Florida Foundation. Over the next three weeks, the foundation board held a secret meeting to award $5 million of it to a 501(c)(4) overseen by Florida Chamber of Commerce CEO Mark Wilson, and the board's chairperson awarded another $5 million to St. Petersburg-based Save Our Society from Drugs. The groups don't have to disclose their donors. Both those groups then sent nearly all the money to a political committee overseen by Uthmeier, who was then the governor's chief of staff. The committee was created to defeat Amendment 3, the failed ballot initiative that tried to legalize recreational marijuana. Text messages showed Uthmeier told the leader of Save Our Society from Drugs, Amy Ronshausen, to apply for the money. 'There's no question that these were Medicaid funds steered by the governor's chief of staff through secret and clandestine actions to his own political committee,' Andrade told lawmakers Thursday. Andrade said earlier this month that he was going to issue a subpoena to Uthmeier, but backed off the threat the next day. He still has numerous requests for records, including text messages and call logs, outstanding with DeSantis' agencies. 'The Governor's office WANTS this to become a spectacle to distract from the real issues,' Andrade said in a text message afterward. 'I know what I need to know as a legislator, and it's up to the FBI and DOJ (Department of Justice) to care about fighting public corruption.' He added that 'next session I'll be working on policy fixes to address the obvious public corruption exhibited by James Uthmeier.' Wilson and Ronshausen said they would testify before Thursday's committee, but both backed out minutes before it began, Andrade said. Aaron initially said he could attend a hearing Friday, but he, too, backed out. Each cited legal or confidentiality issues. Aaron wrote Andrade that not all Hope Florida Foundation board members had waived their attorney-client privilege. Wilson wrote Andrade that further 'inquiry' into his organization's involvement in using the money to fight the legalization of recreational marijuana 'would infringe bedrock associational rights, undermining the organization and chilling its constitutionally protected conduct.' Ronshausen wrote she wanted to 'preserve all privileges on behalf' of her organization, 'legally or otherwise.' 'Doing so is even more necessary now as, the one time I was asked to speak 'off the record' with a member of this Committee, I was assured it would remain confidential,' Ronshausen said in her 7:47 a.m. email to Andrade. Andrade told reporters after the committee that the parent organization of Save Our Society From Drugs — Drug Free America — 'feels misled by Jeff Aaron and James Uthmeier.' 'They've activated their insurance policy. They're concerned about liability. They're taking steps to rectify that, and they've already provided some documents in response to our request for documents,' Andrade said. Andrade could convene a special committee to compel Ronshausen and Wilson to testify, but he said the record already showed the $10 million was funneled to Uthmeier's political committee to fight Amendment 3. He spent several minutes Thursday reciting the timeline of the scandal. 'I gave a summary just now that's pretty succinct and backed up by facts,' Andrade said. 'I'll leave the rest of the investigation up to the FBI and Department of Justice.' Rep. Debra Tendrich, a Lake Worth Democrat who serves on the committee, said she had hoped to ask basic questions about the money, such as who told Wilson to request the $5 million. Tendrich, who runs her own nonprofit, noted the grant was never advertised, and she said she wondered why Wilson's organization wrote on its grant application that it would 'not voluntarily disclose' that it received the money. Both are highly unusual for nonprofits. She said taxpayers deserved to have answers about what was done with the money. 'Not showing up, it implicates them that they had some wrongdoing in this,' Tendrich said.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers end Hope Florida charity probe without hearing from key players
TALLAHASSEE — House lawmakers are ending their probe into Gov. Ron DeSantis' Hope Florida Foundation without hearing testimony from the organization's lawyer or leaders of two groups that got $5 million grants from the charity. Rep. Alex Andrade, the Pensacola Republican who has been spearheading the investigation, said Thursday that he believed Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and the charity's lawyer, Jeff Aaron, committed criminal acts when they moved $10 million from a Medicaid overbilling settlement to the foundation. The foundation gave the money to two other nonprofits, who then gave $8.5 million to be spent on political advertising, Andrade said. But Andrade said his committee wouldn't be the ones to prosecute them. The legislative session is scheduled to end next week. 'While I'm firmly convinced that James Uthmeier and Jeff Aaron engaged in a conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud, and that several parties played a role in the misuse of $10 million in Medicaid funds, we as legislators will not be the ones making the ultimate charging decisions,' Andrade told lawmakers Thursday. 'I believe our work on this topic in this capacity as a subcommittee will be concluded,' he added. The $10 million came from the state Medicaid contractor Centene as part of a $67 million legal settlement for overbilling for prescription drugs. State officials 'directed' the company in September to donate to the Hope Florida Foundation. Over the next three weeks, the foundation board held a secret meeting to award $5 million of it to a 501(c)(4) overseen by Florida Chamber of Commerce CEO Mark Wilson, and the board's chairperson awarded another $5 million to St. Petersburg-based Save Our Society from Drugs. Both those groups then sent nearly all the money to a political committee overseen by Uthmeier, who was then the governor's chief of staff. Text messages showed Uthmeier told the leader of Save Our Society from Drugs, Amy Ronshausen, to apply for the money. 'There's no question that these were Medicaid funds steered by the governor's chief of staff through secret and clandestine actions to his own political committee,' Andrade told lawmakers Thursday. Andrade said earlier this month that he was going to issue a subpoena to Uthmeier, but backed off the threat the next day. He still has numerous requests for records, including text messages and call logs, outstanding with DeSantis' agencies. 'The Governor's office WANTS this to become a spectacle to distract from the real issues,' Andrade said in a text message afterward. 'I know what I need to know as a legislator, and it's up to the FBI and DOJ (Department of Justice) to care about fighting public corruption.' Wilson and Ronshausen were invited to testify before Thursday's committee, but both backed out minutes before it began, Andrade said. Aaron initially said he could attend a hearing Friday, but he, too, backed out. 'I will note to any member of the Florida Chamber of Commerce that it does appear from everything indicated by Mr. Wilson, they were complicit and had full knowledge of what they were doing in the misuse of these Medicaid funds,' Andrade said. 'I would be extremely concerned as the Florida Chamber of Commerce.' This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DeSantis' Hope Florida scrutiny deepens amid new revelations on $10M payment
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Part of Gov. Ron DeSantis' crusade to defeat a Florida recreational pot ballot measure received $10 million from two groups that got money from a nonprofit associated with first lady Casey DeSantis' community-based assistance program. Hope Florida has received heightened scrutiny over whether it improperly received money intended for the state. Two organizations said to Hope Florida in letters that they did not use the money for political activity. But the groups wound up giving money to the effort to defeat the pot amendment within days of receiving it from the Hope Florida Foundation. The program, launched by the first lady, discussed a partnership with a Florida Chamber of Commerce initiative that helped Gov. DeSantis defeat Amendment 3. A review of state election records shows the same Florida Chamber of Commerce initiative also provided the campaign led by Gov. DeSantis close to $5 million in the two weeks before the November election. Despite the timing, letters provided by the foundation that oversees Hope Florida show $5 million was given to the chamber's Secure Florida's Future initiative in response to a proposal that would promote the first lady's program and help recruit business partners in the future. A proposal letter sent to Hope Florida promised that the chamber-led initiative, which also took part in efforts to defeat Amendment 3 in last year's election, would not use the $5 million grant for political or election purposes. Florida Chamber President Mark Wilson wrote the money would be put toward a long-term targeted business partner recruitment strategy and public awareness campaign. 'By utilizing our network of robust communications and outreach channels serving our hundreds of thousands of employer- and business organization-members representing every industry, sector and region of Florida,' Wilson wrote in the letter. The Hope Florida board gave another $5 million to Save Our Society from Drugs, a St. Petersburg-based organization aimed at preventing drug use and increasing access to recovery programs. 'The importance of this work cannot be overstated,' Amy Ronshausen, executive director of Save Our Society from Drugs, wrote in the letter. 'Drug use continues to have a devastating impact on families, the workforce, and community health.' Hope Florida was launched by Casey DeSantis four years ago as a community-based welfare initiative designed to reduce the need for government-subsidized programs. Gov. DeSantis asked the Legislature this year to put Hope Florida into state law, spurring a financial review that left state House leaders with questions and concerns about how taxpayer dollars have been spent. Casey DeSantis is considering a run for governor to succeed her husband, who is term-limited and cannot run again. Gov. DeSantis has repeatedly touted the initiative and praised his wife's efforts to put it together. Last week, Florida's House Health Care Budget Subcommittee spent more than an hour asking the state Agency for Health Care Administration about $10 million that was donated to Hope Florida as part of a settlement agreement with the state's largest Medicaid operator. The AHCA settlement was included in the minutes of an Oct. 14 board meeting of the Hope Florida Foundation. The board minutes also bring up a 'strategic partnership' between Hope Florida and Secure Florida's Future. The Hope Florida board minutes refer to the partnership with Secure Florida's Future as a grant proposal that was developed by the 'Department and Executive Administration,' to engage with business and community partners and advance Hope Florida's mission. 'Secure Florida's Future is uniquely positioned to enhance awareness of Hope Florida's efforts within the private sector using a data-driven approach,' the minutes said. Hope Florida is a nonprofit organization associated with the Florida Department of Children and Families, which convinced a joint-legislative committee to approve the transfer of $20.7 million in unspent Covid federal housing assistance money to Hope Florida. This transfer of funds was approved on Oct. 24 — about the time the Hope Florida board discussed the grant proposal and partnership with the chamber's anti-pot initiative. The Hope Florida board minutes also discuss memos that were created to memorialize each cash disbursement approved by the panel. DCF could not provide the memos, or provide any other details about the spending in response to requests made by POLITICO on Friday morning. The Hope Florida Foundation board is chaired by Joshua Hay, who was asked by state House Health Care Budget Subcommittee Chair Alex Andrade to explain the program's finances during a meeting on Wednesday. Andrade said during a Wednesday night podcast with former Rep. Matt Gaetz that if Hay or the other board members fail to appear, he will issue subpoenas to obtain financial records. The scrutiny of Hope Florida by the state House prompted DeSantis to lash out, accusing the chamber and House Speaker Daniel Perez (R-Miami) of working against other state Republicans. Andrade has also taken heat from DeSantis after he accused the administration of breaking the law by misusing state settlement funds when it brokered a $10 million donation that went to Hope Florida in the last weeks before the November election. The donation was made by the state's largest Medicaid managed care operator, Centene, as part of a $67 million settlement involving the operator's pharmacy benefit manager. During a Thursday news conference, DeSantis said the $67 million deal was the best that staffers with the state Agency for Health Care Administration could negotiate with Centene, saying the case was not very strong. However, Centene wrote in a statement provided to POLITICO on Friday that ACHA directed the terms of the settlement along with the state Attorney General's office. The settlement agreement was signed on Sept. 27 by Chief Deputy Attorney General John Guard, then-AHCA Secretary Jason Weida, and Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky. 'The allocation of funds detailed in the settlement document was directed by the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) and approved by the Florida Attorney General's Office,' the Centene statement said. 'Centene had no part in or knowledge of any decision by the Hope Florida Foundation regarding the subsequent use of any Foundation funds." The political committee that was set up to oppose Amendment 3 was chaired by James Uthmeier, then also working as chief of staff for DeSantis. DeSantis appointed him as Florida's attorney general earlier this year. Campaign records show Keep Florida Clean received $4.85 million from Secure Florida's Future, most of it coming in October after the Hope Florida Foundation approved the grant. Save our Society from Drugs donated $5.75 million as well, with most of the money coming in late October. Keep Florida Clean in October steered $11.5 million to the Republican Party of Florida, which wound up airing more than $16 million worth of television ads opposed to Amendment 3, according to an analysis done by AdImpact. One of the ads featured Casey DeSantis, as well as a top official in the Florida Highway Patrol, urging voters to defeat the amendment. Uthmeier did not respond to a request for comment Friday about the transactions between Hope Florida Foundation and the political committee he led to defeat the amendment. Keep Florida Clean recently shut down. But before it did, the committee sent more than $1.2 million to the Florida Freedom Fund, another committee led by Uthmeier that DeSantis has said he plans to use to help aid candidates in the 2026 election.
Politico
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Politico
DeSantis' Hope Florida scrutiny deepens amid new revelations on $10M payment
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Part of Gov. Ron DeSantis' crusade to defeat a Florida recreational pot ballot measure received $10 million from two groups that got money from a nonprofit associated with first lady Casey DeSantis' community-based assistance program. Hope Florida has received heightened scrutiny over whether it improperly received money intended for the state. Two organizations said to Hope Florida in letters that they did not use the money for political activity. But the groups wound up giving money to the effort to defeat the pot amendment within days of receiving it from the Hope Florida Foundation. The program, launched by the first lady, discussed a partnership with a Florida Chamber of Commerce initiative that helped Gov. DeSantis defeat Amendment 3. A review of state election records shows the same Florida Chamber of Commerce initiative also provided the campaign led by Gov. DeSantis close to $5 million in the two weeks before the November election. Despite the timing, letters provided by the foundation that oversees Hope Florida show $5 million was given to the chamber's Secure Florida's Future initiative in response to a proposal that would promote the first lady's program and help recruit business partners in the future. A proposal letter sent to Hope Florida promised that the chamber-led initiative, which also took part in efforts to defeat Amendment 3 in last year's election, would not use the $5 million grant for political or election purposes. Florida Chamber President Mark Wilson wrote the money would be put toward a long-term targeted business partner recruitment strategy and public awareness campaign. 'By utilizing our network of robust communications and outreach channels serving our hundreds of thousands of employer- and business organization-members representing every industry, sector and region of Florida,' Wilson wrote in the letter. The Hope Florida board gave another $5 million to Save Our Society from Drugs, a St. Petersburg-based organization aimed at preventing drug use and increasing access to recovery programs. 'The importance of this work cannot be overstated,' Amy Ronshausen, executive director of Save Our Society from Drugs, wrote in the letter. 'Drug use continues to have a devastating impact on families, the workforce, and community health.' Hope Florida was launched by Casey DeSantis four years ago as a community-based welfare initiative designed to reduce the need for government-subsidized programs. Gov. DeSantis asked the Legislature this year to put Hope Florida into state law, spurring a financial review that left state House leaders with questions and concerns about how taxpayer dollars have been spent. Casey DeSantis is considering a run for governor to succeed her husband, who is term-limited and cannot run again. Gov. DeSantis has repeatedly touted the initiative and praised his wife's efforts to put it together. Last week, Florida's House Health Care Budget Subcommittee spent more than an hour asking the state Agency for Health Care Administration about $10 million that was donated to Hope Florida as part of a settlement agreement with the state's largest Medicaid operator. The AHCA settlement was included in the minutes of an Oct. 14 board meeting of the Hope Florida Foundation. The board minutes also bring up a 'strategic partnership' between Hope Florida and Secure Florida's Future. The Hope Florida board minutes refer to the partnership with Secure Florida's Future as a grant proposal that was developed by the 'Department and Executive Administration,' to engage with business and community partners and advance Hope Florida's mission. 'Secure Florida's Future is uniquely positioned to enhance awareness of Hope Florida's efforts within the private sector using a data-driven approach,' the minutes said. Hope Florida is a nonprofit organization associated with the Florida Department of Children and Families, which convinced a joint-legislative committee to approve the transfer of $20.7 million in unspent Covid federal housing assistance money to Hope Florida. This transfer of funds was approved on Oct. 24 — about the time the Hope Florida board discussed the grant proposal and partnership with the chamber's anti-pot initiative. The Hope Florida board minutes also discuss memos that were created to memorialize each cash disbursement approved by the panel. DCF could not provide the memos, or provide any other details about the spending in response to requests made by POLITICO on Friday morning. The Hope Florida Foundation board is chaired by Joshua Hay, who was asked by state House Health Care Budget Subcommittee Chair Alex Andrade to explain the program's finances during a meeting on Wednesday. Andrade said during a Wednesday night podcast with former Rep. Matt Gaetz that if Hay or the other board members fail to appear, he will issue subpoenas to obtain financial records. The scrutiny of Hope Florida by the state House prompted DeSantis to lash out, accusing the chamber and House Speaker Daniel Perez (R-Miami) of working against other state Republicans. Andrade has also taken heat from DeSantis after he accused the administration of breaking the law by misusing state settlement funds when it brokered a $10 million donation that went to Hope Florida in the last weeks before the November election. The donation was made by the state's largest Medicaid managed care operator, Centene, as part of a $67 million settlement involving the operator's pharmacy benefit manager. During a Thursday news conference, DeSantis said the $67 million deal was the best that staffers with the state Agency for Health Care Administration could negotiate with Centene, saying the case was not very strong. However, Centene wrote in a statement provided to POLITICO on Friday that ACHA directed the terms of the settlement along with the state Attorney General's office. The settlement agreement was signed on Sept. 27 by Chief Deputy Attorney General John Guard, then-AHCA Secretary Jason Weida, and Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky. 'The allocation of funds detailed in the settlement document was directed by the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) and approved by the Florida Attorney General's Office,' the Centene statement said. 'Centene had no part in or knowledge of any decision by the Hope Florida Foundation regarding the subsequent use of any Foundation funds.' The political committee that was set up to oppose Amendment 3 was chaired by James Uthmeier, then also working as chief of staff for DeSantis. DeSantis appointed him as Florida's attorney general earlier this year. Campaign records show Keep Florida Clean received $4.85 million from Secure Florida's Future, most of it coming in October after the Hope Florida Foundation approved the grant. Save our Society from Drugs donated $5.75 million as well, with most of the money coming in late October. Keep Florida Clean in October steered $11.5 million to the Republican Party of Florida, which wound up airing more than $16 million worth of television ads opposed to Amendment 3, according to an analysis done by AdImpact. One of the ads featured Casey DeSantis, as well as a top official in the Florida Highway Patrol, urging voters to defeat the amendment. Uthmeier did not respond to a request for comment Friday about the transactions between Hope Florida Foundation and the political committee he led to defeat the amendment. Keep Florida Clean recently shut down. But before it did, the committee sent more than $1.2 million to the Florida Freedom Fund, another committee led by Uthmeier that DeSantis has said he plans to use to help aid candidates in the 2026 election.
