The Hope Florida File · Medicaid settlement · Grand jury · First District Court of Appeal
Court records and credited reporting · checked Oct. 18, 2026
A grand jury said $10 million in Medicaid settlement money was misappropriated.
An appeals court ordered its report erased.
In 2024, $10 million from Florida’s settlement with Medicaid contractor Centene went to the Hope Florida Foundation, a private charity set up to support the state’s Hope Florida assistance program. Within weeks, $8.5 million of it reached a political committee chaired by the governor’s chief of staff. A Leon County grand jury called the money misappropriated but charged no one. On Oct. 7, 2026, the First District Court of Appeal ordered its report expunged in full. Here is the money trail, what the grand jury found, who fought the report and who paid their lawyers, what the appeals court held, and what none of these records show.
$10 million left the settlement. $8.5 million reached Keep Florida Clean within four weeks.
Florida settled claims that Centene, a Medicaid managed-care contractor, had overbilled the state. The settlement was resolved before any lawsuit was filed and signed Sept. 27, 2024, the day after Hurricane Helene made landfall. Of the $67,048,611 total, the state received $57,048,611. The other $10 million went to the Hope Florida Foundation as a “donation” written into the agreement.
- Sept. 12–13, 2024 The draft split changes twice: first $62 million to the state and $5 million to Hope Florida, then $57 million and $10 million.
- Sept. 27, 2024 Settlement signed. Signers included Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Jason Weida, Department of Health chief of staff Cassandra Pasley, and Chief Deputy Attorney General John Guard.
- Oct. 4, 2024 Centene wires $10 million to the Hope Florida Foundation.
- Oct. 14, 2024 The foundation’s board approves a $5 million grant to Secure Florida’s Future, a nonprofit tied to the Florida Chamber of Commerce, and lets its chair approve later requests alone.
- Oct. 18, 2024 The chair approves a second $5 million grant, to Save Our Society From Drugs, without a board vote, less than two hours after the request arrives.
- Oct. 17–29, 2024 Six checks totaling $8.5 million go to Keep Florida Clean, the political committee chaired by James Uthmeier, then the governor’s chief of staff: $3.75 million from Secure Florida’s Future and $4.75 million from Save Our Society From Drugs.
- After Keep Florida Clean sends $7 million to the Republican Party of Florida and $1.23 million to the Florida Freedom Fund. The committee was formed to defeat 2024’s Amendment 3, which would have legalized recreational marijuana. It received 55.9% of the vote, short of the 60% required.
Transfers of the same money, reported in sequence · not added together
What these records do not show: money is interchangeable once deposited, so a committee’s later spending cannot be matched dollar for dollar to a particular check. The grand jury’s tracing is reported here as it was published; we have not yet checked it against the committees’ own filings. No one has been charged with a crime, and the appeals court held that the money was “never public money.”
“Misappropriated” for political purposes. Not enough evidence to charge anyone.
Leon County State Attorney Jack Campbell opened a criminal investigation in May 2025, after a Florida House subcommittee led by Rep. Alex Andrade (R-Pensacola) examined the payment. A grand jury voted to inquire in August 2025 and began hearing witnesses in mid-October. It returned no indictment. On Jan. 28, 2026, it filed a 116-page presentment, a written report, under seal; 97 of those pages were attachments.
The grand jury’s conclusions, as published
- The $10 million was “misappropriated as part of a sophisticated scheme to fund political activities.”
- The entire settlement was taxpayer money: compensation Centene owed for overbilling Medicaid, which should have gone through the Legislature, not to a private foundation.
- It rejected Weida’s description of the $10 million as a “bonus” as not credible.
- No one could be charged because no witness would take responsibility for sending the money to Hope Florida or recalled who decided it.
- It asked the Legislature to require that all money the state receives, from any source, go into the treasury, with consequences for violations, and to set rules for how groups like Hope Florida may use public money.
What the appeals court said about those conclusions
- Calling the money misappropriated was a legal conclusion the grand jury had no power to make without indicting anyone.
- The statutes it relied on cover money the state receives; this money went from Centene directly to Hope Florida and, the court wrote in a footnote, “was never public money.”
- Naming and condemning people it did not indict exceeded its authority.
- Because the State Attorney emailed the sealed report to people outside the law’s notice list, it had to be expunged on that ground alone (the ground the third judge relied on).
The report itself: no court released it. CBS News Miami obtained and published it on Aug. 26, 2026, after the circuit court had expunged about 112 of its 116 pages. The appeals court has since ordered the whole document expunged. We describe its findings as published by news organizations and do not reproduce or link it.
It named the chief of staff and the attorney general. Neither was charged. Uthmeier says nobody did anything wrong; the governor calls it a hoax.
Named in a grand jury finding, as published
Discussed in the report, no finding against them as published
Then governor’s chief of staff · now attorney generalJames UthmeierThe grand jury found he was “in a position of authority over those involved in settling with Centene” and that testimony identified him as having involvement in directing the money after it reached Hope Florida. He chaired Keep Florida Clean. He urged Save Our Society From Drugs to apply for a grant, per the report’s account of its director’s testimony. Not charged. He has called the matter a “big nothingburger” and said “nobody did anything wrong here.” DeSantis appointed him attorney general in February 2025; he is on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Then attorney general · now U.S. senatorAshley MoodyThe grand jury found she knew of the plan and authorized her chief deputy, John Guard, to sign the settlement for her office, despite reservations he raised. Not charged. She did not respond to CBS News Miami’s requests for comment. DeSantis appointed her to the U.S. Senate in January 2025; she is on the Nov. 3 ballot for the remainder of the term.
Then chief deputy attorney general · now appellate judgeJohn GuardSigned the settlement. The grand jury faulted him for not making sure the money was handled as the law requires; his concerns were resolved by rewording the agreement so the health agency, not the Attorney General’s Office, directed the payment. DeSantis appointed him to the Second District Court of Appeal in January 2026. He represented himself in the appeal.
Then AHCA secretary · now governor’s chief of staffJason WeidaSigned the settlement. His general counsel testified that he directed the $10 million to the foundation; he testified he did not recall who suggested Hope Florida. The grand jury rejected his “bonus” description as not credible.
Then deputy chief of staff · now CFO’s chief of staffKatie StricklandThe grand jury found her “not credible” and “the least informative” witness. Another witness testified Strickland asked her to sign the settlement at the state Emergency Operations Center.
Nonprofit directorsMark Wilson and Amy RonshausenWilson (Secure Florida’s Future) and Ronshausen (Save Our Society From Drugs). The grand jury found both “mischaracterized” the purpose of the money in their grant applications. The appeals court held findings against these private grant recipients were outside the grand jury’s authority.
Hope Florida FoundationJoshua Hay and Jeff AaronHay, the board chair, approved the second grant alone; the grand jury called his testimony credible but said he acted without due diligence. Aaron, the foundation’s lawyer, told Hay the money was coming and sent Ronshausen a model grant letter, per the report and texts released by the House. Aaron told the grand jury he did not know of the settlement until the controversy began.
GovernorRon DeSantisNot the subject of a finding in the report as published. He has said he was not involved in the settlement, called the $10 million a charitable “cherry on top” of what Centene owed, and calls the matter a “hoax.”
Sources: CBS News Miami (Aug. 26, 2026); NBC 6 South Florida (Aug. 2026); Florida Trident via WGCU (Sept. 19, Sept. 28, 2026); Florida Bar News (Guard, Jan. 16, 2026). Each card states what the report said as published, which the appeals court has ordered expunged. Being named is not a finding of guilt.
Nine months from sealed report to full expungement.
Florida law keeps a grand jury report about people it did not indict confidential until each person named has had 15 days to ask a judge to suppress it (“repress”) or strike parts of it (“expunge”). The people named used that process. No party argued in the report’s defense on appeal: the State Attorney dropped his own appeal, and the news organization allowed to intervene was not a party.
- Jan. 28, 2026 Presentment filed under seal. On Jan. 28 and 29 the State Attorney’s office emails it to at least 49 recipients, including Rep. Andrade.
- Feb. 12, 2026 Deadline for people named to move to repress or expunge. Motions are filed.
- Mar. 25, 2026 Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh lets the Florida Center for Government Accountability, publisher of the Florida Trident, intervene for a limited purpose and orders that it be told of any appeal.
- June 2, 2026 Hearing in Leon County circuit court.
- July 29, 2026 Judge Marsh expunges about 112 of 116 pages (the witness list, witness names and titles, all 97 pages of attachments and several findings) but refuses to expunge the rest, including the misappropriation conclusion.
- Aug. 12–13, 2026 People named ask the appeals court for emergency relief; the court pauses the order to notify the intervenors the next day.
- Aug. 25, 2026 A three-judge panel bars disclosure of the appeal to the intervenors or anyone else. The order is not made public until Oct. 7.
- Aug. 26, 2026 CBS News Miami publishes the full report.
- Oct. 7, 2026 The First District Court of Appeal orders the report expunged in full (chapter 06).
The governor’s office has paid $327,170.50 in public money to three law firms. Two of them argued for erasing the report.
| Firm | Hired | Paid (reported) | Client on the invoices | Counsel of record in the expungement fight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Komisar Spicola | Oct. 2, 2025 | $20,130.50 | Not named | Represented an anonymous “Petitioner F” in the August emergency petition. Partner William Spicola was appointed by DeSantis to the Gaming Control Commission on Jan. 9, 2026. |
| Continental PLLC (Chris Kise) | Oct. 30, 2025 | $111,387.50 | “Executive Office of the Governor”; the person represented is not named | Kise is counsel of record for James Uthmeier in the appeal. Invoices show work on a motion to repress, finalized Feb. 12. |
| Boies Schiller Flexner (Jesse Panuccio) | Oct. 30, 2025 | Nearly $200,000 | Katie Strickland | Counsel of record for Strickland in the appeal. The governor’s office withheld its invoices as work product when the Trident asked again. |
Payments as reported by the Florida Trident from state records (Sept. 19, Sept. 28, Oct. 8, 2026). The Trident reports Continental and Boies Schiller together at $307,040. Counsel of record from the appeals court’s opinion.
The State’s side of the appeal was argued by the Attorney General’s Office.
Because Uthmeier, the attorney general, was himself one of the people appealing, the State was represented by a specially appointed acting attorney general, Bradford L. Thomas, with two chief deputy solicitors general from the Attorney General’s Office. The State agreed to the emergency petition in August, according to the Trident, and the opinion records it agreeing on the notice question.
First District Court of Appeal opinion, No. 1D2026-2435, counsel listing and n. 2; Florida Trident, Oct. 8, 2026.
What these records do not show: whether public money paid for the appeal itself. Invoices released so far run through May 2026; invoices for the August petition and the appeal have not been released. The records do not say whom Continental represented in circuit court, or on what legal authority the governor’s office paid private lawyers for people in a criminal investigation. A 1994 opinion of the Attorney General’s Office, still posted on its website, concludes that a state agency may not pay attorney’s fees for an employee called before a grand jury about his or her official duties. Attorney General opinions are advisory, not binding law. The governor’s office did not respond to the Trident’s questions.
The opinion was written by a judge DeSantis appointed about five weeks after the report was filed.
First District Court of Appeal · Case record
- Case
- In re: Leon County Grand Jury Presentment, Fall of 2025
- Number
- 1D2026-2435
- Decided
- Oct. 7, 2026 (19 pages)
- From
- Leon County Circuit Court, Judge James Lee Marsh
- Result
- Partial expungement reversed; report to be expunged in full. Orders to notify the intervenors reversed.
- Written by
- Judge Lance E. Neff, appointed by Gov. DeSantis on March 2, 2026
- Joined by
- Judge M.K. Thomas
- Concurring in result
- Judge Ross L. Bilbrey: would expunge only because of the improper disclosure, without reaching the report’s substance
- Status
- Not final until any timely rehearing or clarification motion is decided
What the court held
- A grand jury “may not declare conduct unlawful and then decline to charge it.”
- Naming and condemning people without indicting them exceeded its authority.
- Its findings against private grant recipients and their nonprofits were outside its authority; one man was impugned only by association.
- The State Attorney’s emails to people not entitled to notice were an unlawful disclosure, which required expungement.
- Striking only parts would leave a report of “a totally different tenor,” so the whole document must go.
- The court called the report “careless in its grammar, mistaken in its law, and unfaithful to its own record.”
ReactionGov. Ron DeSantisCalled the ruling “the biggest judicial smackdown that I have ever seen” and said whoever leaked the report should be prosecuted.Florida Phoenix, Oct. 8, 2026
ReactionAttorney General’s OfficeJeremy Redfern, Uthmeier’s deputy chief of staff, called it a “complete and total victory.” Uthmeier said law enforcement was looking into the leak.News Service of Florida via WUSF; Florida Phoenix, Oct. 8, 2026
ReactionRep. Alex AndradeLed the 2025 House subcommittee hearings on the payment. Declined to comment on the ruling. In April 2025 he said he believed Uthmeier and Aaron had conspired to commit money laundering and wire fraud; both have denied wrongdoing and neither has been charged.News Service of Florida via WUSF, Oct. 8, 2026; Florida Trident via WGCU, Sept. 28, 2026
What this does not show: that the judges ruled as they did because of who appointed them. Appointment by the governor is how Florida fills appellate seats. We list each judge’s appointment because the people named in the report served in or alongside the administration that made it. Judge Neff’s page lists his earlier state posts.
What these records do not show, and what we are still checking.
The records do not show
- That anyone committed a crime. No one was indicted, and the appeals court held the grand jury’s misappropriation conclusion was beyond its power.
- Who decided the $10 million would go to Hope Florida. The grand jury said no witness would take responsibility.
- Whether public money paid for the appeal, or whom Continental represented below.
- Any finding about Gov. DeSantis in the report as published.
Still being checked
- Keep Florida Clean, Secure Florida’s Future and Save Our Society From Drugs: Division of Elections filings for the $8.5 million and the transfers out.
- The governor’s office payment records and invoices, by public records request.
- Any rehearing motion (due within 15 days of Oct. 7) or further review.
- The leak investigation Uthmeier described.
- The IRS Whistleblower Office acknowledged a claim from Rep. Andrade (letter of May 30, 2026); an acknowledgment is not an audit.
- The foundation’s fiscal 2025 tax return reports $11.2 million in revenue; how it records the $10 million.
Every card carries its source and its limits.
Responses and open questions
- Gov. DeSantis calls the matter a hoax and says he was not involved in the settlement. Attorney General Uthmeier says nobody did anything wrong. Sen. Moody did not respond to CBS News Miami.
- SignalData will seek comment from the governor’s office, Attorney General Uthmeier, Sen. Moody, Judge Guard, Jason Weida, Katie Strickland, the Hope Florida Foundation, Secure Florida’s Future, Save Our Society From Drugs, the three law firms and State Attorney Campbell before this File leaves preview. Responses will be added here, dated.