The DeSantis administration’s Hope Florida scandal took a serious turn for the worse this week, and the only question is whether lawmakers, regulators and law enforcement will hold those involved accountable.
First, some background:
A Times/Herald investigation revealed this year that the DeSantis administration directed a Medicaid contractor that overbilled the state todivert $10 million from a larger settlement away from state coffers. Instead, the money went to the fundraising arm of Hope Florida, a pet project championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ wife, Casey, that seeks to get Floridians off public assistance.
Weeks later, the charity gave $10 million to two nonprofits, who in turn sent nearly all of it to a political committee overseen by DeSantis’ then-chief of staff. That committee was created to oppose last year’s statewide referendum to legalize recreational marijuana, which DeSantis opposed.
Those revelations ignited a firestorm during this year’s legislative session, after reports that the nonprofit’s foundation had failed to file tax returns or perform audits required under state law, met in secret and maintained no budget or bylaws. A top Republican lawmaker accused the administration of illegally laundering federal Medicaid funds, and former federal prosecutors said the transactions may have been illegal. Prosecutors in Tallahassee have launched a criminal investigation.
This week, the Times reported that as officials scrambled last year to draft the settlement agreement, lawyers for the contractor Centene and the Florida Attorney General’s Office tried to distance their clients from the deal. Over three weeks in September, newly released records show, a top deputy in the attorney general’s office repeatedly removed references to his agency in drafts of the settlement passed among negotiators.
Centene’s lawyers, meanwhile, inserted language emphasizing that the company was “directed by the state” to donate $10 million of the settlement to the foundation. They insisted that Florida’s Office of Inspector General or attorney general be mentioned in the agreement and inserted language absolving the company from liability in “any dispute that may arise” from how the money was used.
This looks like a football nobody wanted their fingerprints on. The initial draft of the settlement made no mention of the Hope Florida Foundation, and records do not show why the donation was included or why the amount was doubled from the initial $5 million figure.
Centene declined to answer questions from the Times, reiterating its previous statement that the company “had no part in or knowledge of any decision by the Hope Florida Foundation regarding the subsequent use of any Foundation funds.” DeSantis’ administration kept the deal secret until April this year, though the governor has defended the settlement.
Rep. Alex Andrade, the Panhandle Republican who probed Hope Florida, told the Times the documents raised “red flags” indicating that both sides had concerns over the settlement. Money from Medicaid-related legal settlements belongs to state and federal taxpayers, and diverting it to charities or political committees could amount to theft of federal funds, four former federal prosecutors told the Times/Herald in May.
Andrade said it was clear the state understood the money transferred to the foundation belonged to Medicaid, which would restrict how it could be spent — hence the back and forth. “The CYAs (Cover Your Asses) were evident,” he added. The final settlement agreement also justified the donation by noting that the Hope Florida program was expanding into Medicaid.
These records advance the story by providing a timeline and context for the negotiations. Aside from establishing facts, prosecutors also examine foresight and intent — to determine, for example, if A and B occurred to produce the outcome C. The Times’ latest report has built on the public record by showing the wariness of those involved.
We can only hope that Leon County prosecutors are conducting a serious probe. As I’ve written before: Put witnesses under oath, depose everybody. Democratic members of Congress have already called for a federal review. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Internal Revenue Service should also investigate. If this had happened under a Democratic governor, you can bet the Trump administration would be turning over every rock. Same for DeSantis’ new DOGE team seeking examples of fraud and abuse.
Public money belongs to everybody, not just Democrats or Republicans. We need a full account of what happened here.
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