Grand jury subpoenas for week of October 13, 2025. From Tampa Bay Times:
Prosecutors convening grand jury in Hope Florida investigation
TALLAHASSEE — Prosecutors in Tallahassee are convening a grand jury relating to the Hope Florida Foundation, reinvigorating a scandal that has engulfed the charity spearheaded by Casey DeSantis, the governor’s wife.
In recent weeks, the State Attorney’s Office in Tallahassee has subpoenaed witnesses to testify before a grand jury during the week of Oct. 13, according to two sources familiar with the matter who spoke with the Times/Herald.
Who those witnesses are — and who is being investigated — have not been disclosed. State Attorney Jack Campbell declined to comment.
But the move marks a major development that could lead to criminal charges, escalating the stakes in a controversy that has undermined Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration and placed the first lady’s political future in doubt.
Campbell’s office confirmed back in May that a criminal investigation was underway relating to information given about the Hope Florida Foundation, the charity created to support Casey DeSantis’ signature initiative to move people off of welfare.
The investigation began after revelations, first reported by the Times/Herald, that the DeSantis administration directed $10 millionfrom a legal settlement with the Medicaid contractor Centene through the foundation for political purposes.
Nearly all of the money ended up in a political committee controlled by DeSantis’ then-chief of staff, James Uthmeier. The committee’s purpose was to defeat last year’s recreational marijuana amendment. DeSantis later named Uthmeier Florida’s attorney general.
The money became the focus of a House probe this spring led by Rep. Alex Andrade, a Pensacola Republican. Andrade ultimately turned over documents to Campbell’s office and federal prosecutors.
Andrade said in April that he believed Uthmeier and Jeff Aaron, a lawyer for the Hope Florida Foundation, “engaged in a conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud.”
Spokespeople for DeSantis and Uthmeier did not respond to requests for comment Friday. Aaron also did not respond to a request for comment.
DeSantis has denied wrongdoing. In May, after Campbell’s office confirmed to the Times/Herald the existence of an active criminal investigation, DeSantis denounced it as “political” and took aim at Andrade.
“He took documents and he dropped them in a prosecutor’s office,” DeSantis said. “That is not an organic investigation, that’s a manufactured political operation.”
“There is no basis to do an investigation on these facts,” he added. “Everybody knows it.”
When seeking to prosecute someone, a state attorney can file charges against them or choose to present evidence before a grand jury, composed of citizens who then must decide whether there is probable cause to issue an indictment and move to a trial.
Grand juries are not usually called by prosecutors unless they feel they have potential evidence of a crime. The juries can also be used by prosecutors to avoid issuing charges themselves, which can be useful in politically loaded cases.
Grand juries are often convened for high-level felony and public corruption cases. They are secretive proceedings, where the subjects of the investigation have no representation or opportunity to provide a defense.
Campbell, whose office encompasses Tallahassee, is the son of a longtime local sheriff. An elected Democrat, he’s considered a moderate who has clashed with some of the city’s liberal leaders.
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