Hope Florida

The program is intended to connect the government with private sector, non-profits and faith-based communities to create a pathway for residents to achieve prosperity and become self-sufficient economically. There are allegations that $10 million originating from a Medicaid overbilling settlement were inappropriately transferred to political action committees and ultimately used to fund advertising opposing an amendment to the Florida constitution which would have legalized recreational use of marijuana. CBS News and others have reported on a grand jury report released outside of official channels.

Attorney General Uthemeyer noted that the release of the grand jury report was unauthorized and potentially illegal.

The program provides navigators to identify the "lack of resources, skills, opportunities, or basic necessities" missing from an individual's life and "identify long-term goals and develop a strategic plan" for success. As of April 2025, their website claims that 120,000 Floridians have been "referred" by the program, 1,200 faith-based partners, 5,000 network partners, and 30,000 "Floridians with reduced reliance or no longer relying on public assistance."

In the charity's first year of operation, donations totaled $867,000, almost exclusively from corporations doing business with the Florida state government or regulated by it. Disbursements were minimal.

The Hope Florida Foundation chairperson spoke to a Florida House committee on April 15, 2025 and testified that the organization did not follow state laws regarding governance, ethics or oversight. There were no bylaws or budget, minutes from meetings were not recorded, tax returns were not filed and they did not question the receipt and disbursement of $10 million.

Funds diversion to political action groups

Centene Corporation, Florida's biggest Medicaid contractor, overbilled Florida $67 million in 2021. Their discussions with Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) ended in 2024, and Centene agreed to return the $67 million to the federal and state governments. $10 million of that was sent to Hope Florida Foundation, which disbursed the funds to two "dark money" political groups opposed to the 2024 Florida Amendment 3, Marijuana Legalization Initiative. The Florida governor and first lady were adamantly opposed to its passage. Although a majority of Floridians (55.9%) voted for the issue, a super-majority of 60% was required for approval, so it failed to pass. Millions of dollars in taxpayer money were spent by DeSantis on negative advertisements in the days leading up to the election, with both DeSantises making daily appearances to speak against the amendment.

State Representative Alex Andrade is the Republican leading the investigation into Hope Florida. He alleges that James Uthmeier, then DeSantis' chief of staff, directed two non-profit groups, Secure Florida's Future and Save our Society from Drugs, to request money from Hope Florida Foundation. HFF sent $5 million grants to each of the groups, which in turn forwarded the money to the Political Action Committee (PAC) "Keep Florida Clean", whose chairperson is Uthmeier. Uthmeier--who was appointed by DeSantis to the position of Florida Attorney General in February 2025--has claimed he was not involved. Andrade claims that text messages from Save our Society from Drugs show Uthmeier's involvement.

Attorney Jeff Aaron is the registered agent for the Hope Florida Foundation and provided legal services. The Orlando Business Journal called him the "right-hand man" of Ron DeSantis. His legal work history includes representing the governor when Andrew Warren sued DeSantis following Warren's suspension as Hillsborough County state attorney in 2022. Warren claimed DeSantis violated his First Amendment rights. In January 2024, a three-judge court of appeals in Atlanta ruled that DeSantis did violate Warren's First Amendment rights, but DeSantis requested a hearing before the full court. When Warren's original term of office ended in January 2025 before that hearing was conducted, the court dismissed the case as moot.

Aaron was appointed to the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) by DeSantis in 2021 as a "part-time" commissioner, and earns approximately $78K yearly from the state. He was reappointed by DeSantis in 2025 to serve until 2029. Under Florida Statute 447, members of PERC "shall not be employed by, or hold any commission with, any governmental unit in the state or any employee organization, as defined in this part, while in such office." On April 19, 2025, the Orlando Sentinel stated that Aaron became general counsel of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority in January 2025 at a billing rate of nearly $600 per hour. Aaron referred to the Hope Florida controversy as "a politically motivated witch hunt."

On May 20, 2025, State Attorney Jack Campbell of the Second Judicial Circuit Court opened a criminal investigation into the allegations of money laundering and wire fraud.. A grand jury tasked with investigating the allegations completed a report in January 2026. This report was subsequently released outside of official channels and has been reported on by a number of media organizations. The grand jury did not recommend criminal charges.

Directors

As of 2025, the directors were Joshua Hay, Fatima Perez, Tina Vidal-Duart, Stephanie White and Wendy Nissan.