Florida Govt. Reportedly Sent $10 Million In Medicaid Money To Charity Overseen By Ron DeSantis' Wife

[The IbanezerScrooge]

Florida Govt. Reportedly Sent $10 Million In Medicaid Money To Charity Overseen By Ron DeSantis' Wife

$10 million diverted by the Ron DeSantis administration to Hope Florida were Medicaid funds owed to taxpayers, the Miami Herald reported

www.latintimes.com

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' administration redirected part of a settlement to a state-affiliated charity overseen by his wife rather than returning it to state and federal coffers, a move that contradicts previous claims that the money was an independent donation from a private healthcare contractor.​

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The settlement, finalized in September 2023, was the result of negotiations stemming from allegations that Centene had overcharged Florida taxpayers for prescription medications.​

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The $10 million were then distributed to two nonprofits that are not required to disclose how they spend their funds, the outlet detailed. These groups later transferred $8.5 million to a political committee tied to DeSantis' then Chief of Staff James Uthmeier, now the state attorney general.​

 

[NxNW]

Maybe we need Michael Cohen to step in.

 

[essentialsaltes]

This story has been burbling along for a bit, so I'm glad it's now a thread. Phrases like "money laundering" have been waved around by even GOP politicians in Florida.

After receiving the money from Centene — the state's largest Medicaid managed-care provider — last fall, the foundation made $5 million grants each to Secure Florida's Future, a nonprofit organization linked to the Florida Chamber of Commerce, and Save Our Society from Drugs.

The groups received the grants while they were making contributions to Keep Florida Clean, a political committee headed by James Uthmeier, who was then Gov. Ron DeSantis' chief of staff and is now state attorney general. Keep Florida Clean fought a proposed constitutional amendment in November that would have allowed recreational use of marijuana. [that DeSantis opposed]

Tuesday's hearing was the latest in which House Health Care Budget Chairman Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, has challenged members of the DeSantis administration about the foundation's alleged lack of transparency about the $10 million settlement and subsequent grants.

Andrade, who took the unusual step of requiring Hay to testify under oath, accused Uthmeier of funneling the money from the Medicaid settlement through the foundation to help pay for the effort to defeat the proposed constitutional amendment, known as Amendment 3. Andrade said Uthmeier's actions may have been illegal.

"This is looking more and more like a conspiracy to use Medicaid money to pay for campaign activity," Andrade told reporters after Tuesday's meeting.

Rep. Andrade accuses Florida AG Uthmeier of money laundering, wire fraud amid Hope Florida probe​

and of course...

Controversial DeSantis-Linked Charity’s Zoom Meeting Hijacked by Porn and Nazis​

In the latest turn in the story of the charity-turned-trainwreck, a virtual board meeting for the DeSantis-backed organization was derailed by trolls who flooded the Zoom call with porn and Nazi symbols, according to a report from the Tallahassee Democrat.

 

[essentialsaltes]

A developing political scandal in Florida has Gov. Ron DeSantis on the defensive​

Since these allegations, DeSantis has denied any wrongdoing by his administration. He's fought back in a series of news conferences where he's attacked the news media and Republican lawmakers.

"The whole thing that the House leadership is doing is a manufactured fraud," DeSantis said at a recent appearance in Fort Myers. "This is a hoax. They are trying to smear one of the most successful programs anywhere in the country."

Among the many issues lawmakers are angry about is that the DeSantis administration didn't tell Florida's Legislature about the $67 million settlement or about the $10 million that went directly to a charity overseen by DeSantis' wife. The investigation is the most visible indication of a growing rift between DeSantis and Republican leaders in the legislature. State House Speaker Daniel Perez recently responded to the governor's attack, calling it "a temper tantrum," saying "the House will not be bullied."

Uthmeier says the $10 million that went to the "dark money" groups wasn't Medicaid money. He's called it a "sweetener" — money added by Centene on top of the larger Medicaid settlement. Representative Andrade says that's a legalistic argument and he isn't buying it. "Ten million dollars is a lot of money," he says. "In the real world, if someone defrauded the state or a charity of ten million dollars, they would go to prison."

Andrade says he's concluded his investigation and it's up to federal prosecutors to decide whether to pursue criminal charges.