Casey DeSantis launched Hope Florida in 2021 as a genuine welfare program to help connect needy Floridians to community-based nonprofits and faith institutions, weaning them off government assistance.
- Its funds, both gifts and grants, were first run through the Florida Education Foundation. Then, on August 25, 2023, the Hope Florida Foundation was formed as the charitable arm supporting the Hope Florida initiative.
A spokesperson for Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed that he and the first lady “do not have a role” in the foundation, though they have “promoted its efforts and lent support to its mission”.
- This distance from the foundation’s operations may have made her an ideal target for manipulation.
Uthmeier and Aaron
The evidence strongly suggests that James Uthmeier (then DeSantis’s chief of staff, now Attorney General) and Jeff Aaron (the Hope Florida Foundation’s attorney) orchestrated the scheme. Rep. Alex Andrade, who led the House investigation, stated he is “firmly convinced that James Uthmeier and Jeff Aaron engaged in a conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud”.
Here’s how they manipulated the system:
- Strategic Timing and Coordination:
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- On October 11, 2024, Uthmeier personally reached out to Amy Ronshausen of Save Our Society From Drugs, telling her to request $5 million from the Hope Florida Foundation, according to text reportedly obtained by the Associated Press.
- Aaron then followed up with Ronshausen and sent her Secure Florida’s Future’s application as a template.
- The grant applications were submitted within days (October 13 and 18), and payments were made the same month
- Creating Legal Cover:
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- Foundation Chairman Joshua Hay testified that he “got assurances through Jeff Aaron” that the grants were “above board.”
- Aaron was the foundation’s attorney and chairs Uthmeier’s political committee, “Friends of James Uthmeier.” He is also listed on Attorney General Uthmeier’s transition team. Aaron’s close relationship with Uthmeier points to a possible conflict of interest.
The Money Laundering Scheme
The flow of funds reveals the sophisticated nature of the setup:
- $67 million Medicaid settlement with Centene, with $10 million directed to Hope Florida Foundation
- Foundation immediately sent $5 million each to two dark money nonprofits
- Those organizations sent $8.5 million to Keep Florida Clean (Uthmeier’s anti-marijuana PAC)
- Keep Florida Clean then gave $11.5 million to the Republican Party of Florida
Evidence of Deception and Setup
SOS Board Was Kept in the Dark: James Holton, chairman of Save Our Society from Drugs (SOS), resigned and stated that his organization’s board was unaware that their executive director had accepted $5 million from the foundation and then donated it to political committees.
Key Players Felt Misled: On April 24, Rep. Alex Andrade told reporters after the committee meeting that the parent organization of Save Our Society From Drugs — Drug Free America — “feels misled by Jeff Aaron and James Uthmeier.”
- He also said on that same day: “They’ve activated their insurance policy. They’re concerned about liability. They’re taking steps to rectify that, and they’ve already provided some documents in response to our request for documents.”
Systematic Legal Violations: A House analysis found that the Hope Florida Foundation “appears to be out of compliance with multiple state laws.”
- Audit Requirements:
- Failed to submit an annual audit to the state’s auditor general as required by Florida law
- Public Disclosure Failures:
- Haven’t published legally required information, including a brief description of its mission
- Failed to publish a three-year financial plan
- Haven’t published its code of ethics
- Failed to publish its tax forms
- Regulatory Filing Failures:
- Website records from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, where nonprofits are required to report financial information, did not include any documents from the Hope Florida Foundation.
During his sworn testimony on April 15, before the House Health Care Budget Subcommittee, Hay acknowledged that “he’s been working with Tallahassee attorney Mohammad Jazil on completing the paperwork” for the Hope Florida Foundation.
- Jazil was also part of Uthmeier’s transition team and 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 am hearing right now? Members, I am sorry, I am a little flabbergasted at this revelation,” Andrade said.
- Three days after his testimony, Hays announced Jazil had resigned.
Why is Casey DeSantis involved in the cover-up?
While prosecutors have now opened an investigation, Casey DeSantis’s political future has been damaged by a scandal she appears to have had no direct involvement in orchestrating, making her the perfect fall guy for others’ criminal activity.
- Gov. DeSantis and the First Lady could have easily cleaned the house, fired Uthmeier, cut off Aaron and released all the documents. However, they have placed Casey DeSantis in the middle of the controversy, asserting that any investigation of the Hope Florida Foundation attacks her.