A state grand jury found the DeSantis administration misappropriated $10 million from a Medicaid settlement into the Hope Florida Foundation and said the money was used for political purposes. The report said the funds were meant to help provide health insurance for poor children, then moved through multiple organizations before reaching political accounts.
The grand jury said the transfer was part of “a sophisticated scheme to fund political activities.” It also said the money later landed in the bank accounts of two political action committees and the Republican Party of Florida, and that those funds were used in 2024 to defeat Amendment 3.
James Uthmeier and the transfer
The report identified James Uthmeier as the nexus for much of the activity surrounding the transfer. It said he was in a position of authority over people involved in settling the matter when he was the Governor's Chief of Staff, and testimony identified him as having involvement in directing the money after it went to Hope Florida.
The grand jury also said his Keep Florida Clean was the prime recipient of the majority of the $10 million taxpayer funds. That places the transfer inside a chain that started with a Medicaid settlement and ended in political spending tied to a statewide ballot fight.
John Guard and Ashley Moody
The report said Ashley Moody was aware of the plans to divert the $10 million to Hope Florida and “authorized” her former chief deputy, John Guard, to sign the settlement agreement. It also said Guard signed the settlement without conducting his due diligence to ensure the proper appropriation of taxpayer funds.
Guard wrote that requests for the Department of Legal Affairs to join settlements weren't uncommon and that the settlement was handled in the ordinary course by the Department. He also said, “As a sitting judge, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on past or ongoing court proceedings,” and, “Even if I weren't a sitting judge, to the extent that there was a grand jury, Florida law also makes it unlawful to disclose such proceedings.”
Grand jury report on DeSantis
The report said nobody would take responsibility for deciding the $10 million of taxpayer money would go to Hope Florida or had any memory of who made it. It added, “While we can't prove who is responsible, we can plainly see that taxpayer money was misused for political purposes and we would like to see changes made to prevent this from happening again.”
At the same time, the grand jury said it found insufficient evidence to charge anyone criminally. It wrote, “We recognize that this would be an impediment to criminal prosecution,” which leaves the finding as a public account of the transfer rather than a criminal case.
Ron DeSantis was asked about Hope Florida during a news conference on Wednesday and said, “I wasn't involved in the settlement agree.” John Guard was appointed to the state appeals court in January by DeSantis, and Moody was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 2025 by DeSantis. The report leaves unresolved who made the decision to send the $10 million to Hope Florida.
