A Miami lawyer has filed an ethics complaint against Republican candidate for governor Ron DeSantis over a condo the congressman rented out from a campaign donor and defense contractor in 2016.
The complaint, filed by attorney Richard Ruben, says that DeSantis paid "well below" market value to rent the Palm Coast condo, according to the Huffington Post.
If he got a discount on his condo, it could violate ethics rules. But the complaint could be meritless. The $2,000-per-month DeSantis paid for the 2-bedroom, 2-bath unit appears to be reasonable, reporters found.
DeSantis rented the condo from Kent Stermon and Matt Connell, both executives at Total Military Management, for five months in 2016, after DeSantis dropped his bid for the U.S. Senate, according to Politico, which broke the story.
Stermon and Connell, who are registered to lobby Congress, and their company were big donors to DeSantis, Politico found. But DeSantis spokesman Brad Herold told Politico that he temporarily lived in the unit while looking for a permanent residence in his redrawn district.
"Ron DeSantis temporarily moved into the condo of a friend while he looked to buy a home in Flagler County," Herold told Politico. "He paid upfront and above market value."