"Let justice be done though the Heavens fall."
Fīat iūstitia ruat cælum
From the Tampa Bay Times:
Criminal investigation launched related to Hope Florida, prosecutors say
TALLAHASSEE — Leon County prosecutors say there is an open criminal investigation relating to information a lawmaker provided concerning the Hope Florida Foundation.
In response to a request by the Times/Herald for Hope FloridaFoundation-related records that prosecutors received from state Rep. Alex Andrade, the records custodian for State Attorney Jack Campbell said the information couldn’t be released because it was “part of an open, on-going investigation.”
The response is the first confirmation of any law enforcement investigation related to the foundation, which was set up to support the Hope Florida program championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and his wife, first lady Casey DeSantis.
Earlier this year, House Republicans alleged that the DeSantis administration illegally diverted $10 million from a settlement with a Medicaid contractor to a political committee controlled by the governor’s then-chief of staff.
Campbell declined to comment. It’s not clear who is leading the investigation.
DeSantis, when asked by a Tampa Bay Times reporter about a probe by Campbell’s office during a news conference in Tampa on Tuesday,responded: “Based on what?”
“Well, I mean, I can tell you, this has been a very successful program,” DeSantis said. “Everything that’s been thrown at it is pure politics.”
“I believe in this program deeply, and I stand by it 100%,” he added.
Campbell, an elected Democrat whose office encompasses Tallahassee, told the Times/Herald last month that he wasn’t investigating because no one had brought him evidence of a crime.
Since then, Andrade, the Pensacola Republican who has been leading the House’s investigation into Hope Florida, has said he delivered records he compiled to Campbell’s office. The information was also given to the U.S. Department of Justice, Andrade has said.
Andrade declined to comment Tuesday.
Last month, he abruptly ended his committee’s probe into Hope Florida and its charity arm, but not before accusing DeSantis’ then-chief of staff, James Uthmeier, and a lawyer working for the charity of “conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud.”
Hope Florida is a state program championed by Casey DeSantis designed to move Floridians off of government welfare by connecting them to churches and nonprofits who can offer them help. Its charity arm, the Hope Florida Foundation, was founded to aid that mission.
Last fall, the DeSantis administration directed $10 million of a $67 million settlement with the Medicaid contractor Centene to the Hope Florida Foundation. The settlement was over Centene overbilling for prescription drugs.
Within days, the charity gave $5 million to two nonprofits, including one run by the CEO of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Mark Wilson. The two nonprofits then sent at least $8.5 million to a political committee, which was created to fight last year’s ballot initiative that would have legalized recreational marijuana and was overseen by Uthmeier.
Andrade has called it an illegal diversion of Medicaid funds, which are supposed to go toward health care primarily for children, pregnant women and low-income Floridians who are disabled.
Monies from Medicaid settlements must be placed in the state’s Medical Care Trust Fund, with a portion owed back to the federal government.
Last week, two Democratic members of Congress called on federal health care agencies to investigate the transactions.
Times staff writer Emily L. Mahoney contributed to this report.
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