Leon County prosecutors are convening a grand jury as part of the state’s investigation into the Hope Florida scandal. Who knows where this next phase will go; grand jury proceedings are secret. But this looks like a major step toward answering how millions of dollars in a public settlement ended up at the governor’s pet charity before being diverted to a political operation run by his then-chief of staff.
The State Attorney’s Office in Tallahassee has subpoenaed witnesses to testify before a grand jury next week, the Times/Herald reported Sunday, according to two sources familiar with the matter. While the names of those witnesses and a target of the investigation have not been disclosed, State Attorney Jack Campbell denied a public records request by the Times/Herald last week for any subpoenas served in the probe, citing an active investigation.
Here’s what we know: Gov. Ron DeSantis and his wife, Casey, championed Hope Florida, a state-created charity, as a tool for getting Floridians off government assistance. But a Times/Herald investigation revealed this year that the DeSantis administration directed a Medicaid contractor who overbilled the state todivert $10 million from a state settlement into the charity’s fundraising arm. That money was steered within days to two nonprofits, who then sent at least $8.5 million to a political committee created to fight against last year’s statewide referendum to legalize recreational marijuana, which DeSantis opposed.
The grand jury has a responsibility to detail how this happened. To that end, here are 30 questions it should pursue:
What are the annual staffing and budget figures for Hope Florida since its inception in 2021, and for its fundraising arm, the Hope Florida Foundation, created in 2023?
Has either entity been audited for performance?
Who has served as Hope Florida’s principal administrator since its inception?
What outside entities have business relationships with Hope Florida?
What donors have contributed to the Hope Florida Foundation since its inception?
When did the charity learn it had failed to comply with state laws governing its oversight, ethics and fundraising?
Who has provided Hope Florida with professional legal and financial advice, and over what period?
Were concerns raised internally over Hope Florida’s business practices?
How did Hope Florida arrange liaisons within state government agencies, and who was the charity’s point of contact?
Are professional staff from state agencies assigned either part or full-time to Hope Florida?
Did Hope Florida obtain a legal opinion on whether its board could meet in secret?
Who managed the charity’s budget?
In practice, were communications at Hope Florida made verbally or in writing?
What state agencies have signed contracts with Hope Florida for goods or services?
Why was the donation to Hope Florida added to the settlement agreement with the Medicaid contractor, Centene, and why was the amount doubled to $10 million from the $5 million initially proposed?
Who in state government exercised final authority to assign $10 million from the settlement to Hope Florida?
Was a legal determination made that the $10 million was not owed entirely to the state?
Has Florida ever failed to share a Medicaid settlement with the federal government?
Who at Hope Florida arranged to receive the $10 million?
What prompted the two nonprofits to secure millions of dollars from Hope Florida?
Who initiated the transfer of the money?
Who at Hope Florida authorized routing the money to the nonprofits?
What communications did Hope Florida, the nonprofits and the governor’s office have, if any, about the transaction?
Why did lawyers for Centene insert language into the settlement stressing that the company was “directed by the state” to donate settlement funds to the foundation?
Why did Centene insist that Florida’s Office of Inspector General or Attorney General be named in the settlement agreement?
Why did Centene insert language in the agreement absolving the company from liability in “any dispute that may arise” from how the recovered funds were spent?
Why did a top official representing Florida’s attorney general repeatedly remove references to his office in drafts of the settlement agreement?
Did the state inform federal authorities that settlement money related to the state-federal Medicaid program would be transferred to a charity?
Why did Florida fail to publicly disclose the settlement agreement, reached in September 2024, until April 2025, after reporters and state lawmakers began inquiring about a mysterious $10 million donation?
Who was involved in drafting the DeSantis’ administration’s response to the Legislature’s Hope Florida inquiry this year?
These aren’t the only questions to answer, but it’s a start. Now follow the facts wherever they lead.
