Hope Florida, the charity organization created by Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis in 2021, was the subject of a House Health Care and Budget Committee hearing today in the Florida Legislature. The hearing centered around recent reports that the DeSantis Administration directed a $10 Million payment to Casey’s charity in a Medicaid settlement.
The $67 Million settlement occurred in September of 2024 at the behest of the DeSantis’ Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). The agreement resolved claims related to overpayments involving Centene’s pharmacy benefit manager operations.
$57 Million of the money included in the settlement was given directly back to the Florida taxpayers, while $10 Million of the settlement was inexplicably ordered by the AHCA to be delivered to Casey DeSantis’ Hope Florida.
After the payment had been orchestrated by DeSantis’ AHCA to his wife’s charity, the sum was then transferred from Casey’s Hope Florida to two separate political action committees supporting Ron DeSantis’ political agenda in the 2024 Election, namely, his opposition to Amendment 3, which would have legalized recreational marijuana in the State.
Records show that Hope Florida gave a $5 million grant to the Florida Chamber’s ‘Secure Florida’s Future’ front group and an additional $5 million grant to the ‘Save our Society from Drugs’ organization after receiving the controversial settlement. Both of those organizations then funneled substantial sums of money, close to the amount they received from Hope Florida, to the Keep Florida Clean committee to defeat Amendment 3.
Casey DeSantis’ Hope Florida Hasn’t Filed Any Taxes, Didn’t Hire Accountants Until Weeks Before Hearing
Several shocking truths were revealed about the criminal mismanagement of Hope Florida today in the Florida Legislature, including that the charity had not hired a single accountant to operate its finances until just weeks before today’s hearing.
Joshua Hay, the head of the Hope Florida Foundation, testified today that the nonprofit only a few weeks ago hired accountants to help it. He said the previous accounting of the foundation, which would included the time when the $10 Million settlement was paid by Centene was done by the Florida Department of Children and Families.
“There were lapses in reporting procedures; there are lapses in reporting procedures. And the foundation was not provided with the staffing support necessary to ensure all matters were quickly and appropriately handled,” Hay testified.
Rep. Allison Tant railed against Hope Florida for its failure to obtain basic organization paperwork such as bylaws, saying, “I’m just astonished. I’m astonished that you don’t have bylaws, a budget, meeting minutes.”
Rep. Alex Andrade claimed that he was “stunned” by the organization’s lack of transparency, saying, “I’m more stunned, than anything else, by the responses, the demeanor, the flippancy [toward] the serious questions we have.”
Andrade added, “I have serious concerns about what might be occurring in the post-dating of documentation in the attempt to justify and cover up what actually happened.”
DeSantis-led Hope Florida Didn’t Even File Proper Paperwork To Accept Donations, Hearing Reveals
Hope Florida Director Joshua Hay admitted today during the Legislture’s hearing that Hope Florida failed to file basic tax documentation, including its IRS 990 form required to legally accept donations. Hay told lawmakers in Tallahassee, “[There was a] misunderstanding on who was responsible for preparing the tax records for the non-profit.”
“In recent weeks, the public reporting has made evident that mistakes were made,” Hay added.
The IRS requires Form 990 to be filed by the 15th day of the 5th month after the organization’s fiscal year ends, and failure to file for three consecutive years can lead to automatic revocation of tax-exempt status.
Considering that Hope Florida has existed since 2021, it would be, under the IRS law, eligible to lose its tax-exempt status for its failure to file.
The organization has also failed to file the proper paperwork to report salaries within its operational capacity, or other basic documentation.
Two $5 Million Grants Were Dispersed By Hope Florida With Absolutely No Competition, Raising Questions Of Legality
After it received its $10 Million payment as a result of the settlement negotiated by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Hope Florida dispersed two $5 Million to two political action committees supporting the political causes championed by Ron DeSantis in the 2024 Election, namely his opposition of Amendment 3.
The fact that these grants were dispersed with no competition, and within five calendar days of each other, is raising serious questions about the legality of the disbursements.
When questioned about these disbursements during the hearing today, Director Joshua Hay said, “The grant recommendations were made after my review with general counsel. There was no reason to believe anything wrong with that proposal, no reason to doubt they were not aligned with Hope Florida’s mission.”
“I didn’t know who told the nonprofits to apply for those grants but was assured by my general counsel, Jeff Aaron, that the requests were above board,” he added.
Keep Florida Clean, one of the organizations that received a $5 Million payout from Hope Florida is chaired by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, highlighting yet another angle of corruption to this scandal.
Rep. Andrade said about this specific connection during today’s hearing, “Given Mr. Uthmeier’s involvement in the settlement and then the transfer to Hope Florida and the soliciting these grant proposals and then immediately receiving that to his PAC, yeah, that’s very much what it looks like.”
Hope Florida Has No Actual Headquarters Or Place Of Operation
In a shocking twist during today’s House hearing, it was revealed that Hope Florida does not have a headquarters or an actual place of operation.
The Hope Florida Foundation was found to lack a dedicated office or building, operating instead in a nebulous capacity without a verifiable headquarters, raising additional questions about the organization’s legitimacy.
What kind of operation, particularly an operation that generates millions of dollars, does not have a place of operation? The facts surrounding a lack of headquarters for Hope Florida only add fuel to the fire of claims that they are an illegitimate organization.
Hope Florida Only Disbursed About $500k Absent Two $5 Million Political Contributions
Joshua Hay, the Hope Florida Foundation’s chair, testified today that the foundation had distributed “north of $10 million” in grants, as reported by the Orlando Sentinel. However, lawmakers challenged this, noting that campaign finance records and foundation documents showed only about $500,000 in smaller grants to individuals and organizations, excluding the two $5 million grants to Securing Florida’s Future and Save Our Society from Drugs, which totaled $10 million.
Rep. Marie Woodson hammered Hay over this, asking him, “I’m struggling to understand how you can claim such a large amount of grants when the actual impact on Floridians seems so small. Where is the money really going?”
Rep. Andrade stated about the lack of funds distributed to Floridians, “You’re telling us you’ve granted over $10 million, but when we look at the numbers, it’s clear the vast majority went to two questionable groups, not to helping Floridians.”
A Scam Unravels, Along With A Political Dynasty
With Casey DeSantis reportedly mulling a run for Governor in 2026 to supplant her husband as the chief Executive of the State, this Hope Florida hearing continues to be an issue for the DeSantis clan.
The Florida Governor has been desperate to dismiss legitimate criticism as an ‘attack’ from the ‘liberal left’ in two separate speeches he has made over the last several days.
See a clip from one of those speeches below,
🔥🚨BREAKING: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Becomes Enraged While Speaking About The $10 MIllion Hope Florida Scam, Screams About How 'Unfair' It Is…
— Slingshot News (@NewsSlingshot) April 14, 2025
This comes after @RogerJStoneJr and I talked about the scandal on @77WABCradio yesterday, and @LauraLoomer released yet another… pic.twitter.com/Jj427oxG7Y
As Hope Florida continues to unravel, it appears it is only a matter of time before larger entities, such as the Department of Justice, begin to examine the unbelievable corruption and negligence present in the Casey DeSantis-led charity, along with the political corruption exhibited by DeSantis to funnel taxpayer money to the organization.
