TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A growing scandal around Florida's welfare assistance initiative, Hope Florida, reached new intensity Tuesday as lawmakers questioned whether money laundering or wire fraud may be at the heart of it all. Meanwhile, Governor Ron DeSantis dismissed the investigation as a “total farce,” claiming it's meant to damage his wife’s potential political ambitions.
It all has to do with a $10 million sum allocated to the Hope Florida Foundation last October. It was part of a state settlement with a managed care provider, Centene. The money was then distributed almost immediately to two nonprofits via $5 million grants, with the understanding that it would further Hope Florida’s mission — not be used for political purposes.
However, both nonprofits later funneled millions to Keep Florida Clean, a political committee that fought to defeat last year’s recreational marijuana amendment. That group was chaired by James Uthmeier, former DeSantis Chief of Staff and now Florida’s Attorney General.
“Do you believe that that is a proper purpose and use of those funds?” State Rep. Alex Andrade (R-Pensacola) asked Joshua Hay, President of the Hope Florida Foundation and CEO of Indelible Solutions, a company with tens of millions in state contracts.
“I had no awareness of that, and all I could go off of was the assertions made in the proposal, and that was that there would be no use for political activities,” Hay said.
Hay claimed the grants were reviewed by the foundation’s attorney, Jeff Aaron, and that he believed everything was “above board.” But Hay acknowledged “mistakes were made” — notably, that the foundation has yet to file tax documents and is now working with a new attorney, Mohammad Jazil, to identify and correct deficiencies.
Jazil’s involvement raised further questions, as he also served as an attorney for Keep Florida Clean.
“Jeff Aaron connected you with Mohammad Jazil, the attorney for Keep Florida Clean, to help Hope Florida's foundation in complying with the paperwork to retroactively justify this payment. Is that what I'm hearing right now?” Andrade asked.
“The intent for me is to cure the deficiencies, the noted deficiencies between the statutory requirements and what needs to be in place at the foundation. As it pertains to conflicts, I don't have that,” Hay responded.
Following the hearing, Andrade— who is leading the investigation— expressed alarm and said he believes the financial trail could amount to criminal activity. He said there were a few key things he’d like to tell Attorney General Uthmeier.
“Give back the money and explain yourself. I mean, how on earth did you think this was legal, moral, or ethical? And tell us who else was involved,” Andrade said.
The fellow Republican added that he would next seek testimony from the foundation’s attorney, heads of the two nonprofits that received grants, and possibly the Attorney General himself. Andrade also confirmed subpoenas could be issued if needed.
The communications director for AG Uthmeier, Jeremy Redfern, responded sharply to Andrade’s ongoing probe: "Didn’t the City of Milton just fire this guy for being 'vindictive?' This is nonsense coming from the mega-marijuana corporation’s do-boy."
Governor DeSantis went further during a stop in Pensacola. He accused critics of trying to thwart a potential 2026 gubernatorial run by First Lady Casey DeSantis. “
Some people feel threatened by the First Lady. Let's just be clear about that,” the governor said. “They know this... if you're looking at 2026, and you've got some horse you don't want — you don't want her anywhere near that. You're very worried because she runs circles around their people. Everybody knows that.”
As the controversy intensifies, ripple effects have reached the Florida Senate as well. A bill to codify Hope Florida under the governor’s office was put on hold Tuesday morning. “With everything going on, we thought it would be best if we took a pause,” said a staff member working for the lawmaker sponsoring the legislation.
