Casey DeSantis thought she could get away with it.
The Florida First Lady has been living high on the hog while her husband ran for President.
But Casey DeSantis got some bad news that could destroy her political career.
Prosecutors drop the hammer on Casey DeSantis
A Tallahassee grand jury is about to drop the hammer on Casey DeSantis and her Hope Florida Foundation.
State Attorney Jack Campbell’s office issued subpoenas to key witnesses who will testify during the week of October 13 about what looks like a massive money laundering operation.
The witnesses include members of Governor Ron DeSantis’ staff – and the smart money says Casey DeSantis herself is in the crosshairs.¹
Campbell confirmed back in May that prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into the Hope Florida Foundation after House Republicans uncovered what they called a "conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud."
The investigation centers on $10 million in Medicaid settlement funds that mysteriously ended up in Casey DeSantis’ charity before getting funneled to a political committee fighting marijuana legalization.
Here’s how the scam worked.
The money trail leads straight to Casey DeSantis
DeSantis administration officials secretly "directed" Centene, a Medicaid contractor, to send $10 million from a $67 million legal settlement to the Hope Florida Foundation instead of the state treasury where it belonged.²
Casey DeSantis’ charity then handed out $5 million grants to two nonprofits – Secure Florida’s Future and Save our Society from Drugs.
Within days, both groups made contributions to Keep Florida Clean, a political committee controlled by James Uthmeier, who was DeSantis’ chief of staff at the time.
The committee used the money to defeat last year’s recreational marijuana ballot initiative – a top priority for Ron DeSantis.
Republican state Representative Alex Andrade, who led the House probe, didn’t mince words about what he found.
"Simply put, there’s no question that these were Medicaid funds steered by the Governor’s Chief of Staff through secret and clandestine actions to his own political committee," Andrade stated.³
He called it evidence of "a culture of neglect and incompetence and entitlement" in the Governor’s Office.
The timing couldn’t be worse for Casey DeSantis.
Casey DeSantis’ 2026 dreams go up in smoke
Look, Casey DeSantis has been positioning herself to run for Governor in 2026 when her husband is term-limited.
A recent James Madison Institute poll showed her leading Congressman Byron Donalds 26% to 23% for the Republican primary.⁴
But criminal charges tend to end political careers before they start.
The Hope Florida Foundation was supposed to be Casey DeSantis’ signature achievement – her "conservative answer to welfare" that would connect Floridians to churches and nonprofits instead of government handouts.
Instead, it became a slush fund for political operations.
House investigators found the foundation wasn’t even following basic state laws requiring disclosure of its mission, financial records, and board meeting minutes.
Board meetings were held in secret, violating Florida’s sunshine laws.
Lawmakers discovered a $10 million donation from an "unknown source" in October 2023.
DeSantis officials refused to reveal where the money came from until April, when they were forced to admit it came from the Medicaid settlement.
The settlement documents tell the whole story.
Centene originally agreed to pay Florida $67 million to resolve overbilling claims.
But DeSantis administration officials inserted language "directing" the company to divert $10 million to Casey DeSantis’ foundation.⁵
Lawyers for Centene tried to distance their clients from the arrangement – they knew it stunk to high heaven.
The walls are closing in on the DeSantis operation
Here’s what really gets me about this whole scheme.
Casey DeSantis and her husband created this foundation with taxpayer resources, used it to launder settlement money that belonged to Florida taxpayers, and funneled it to political committees fighting ballot initiatives.
That’s not political activity – that’s criminal activity.
Text messages obtained by investigators show Uthmeier and Jeff Aaron, a lawyer for the Hope Florida Foundation, coordinating the money transfers between organizations.⁶
Andrade believes both men "engaged in a conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud."
Ron DeSantis tried to dismiss the investigation as "political" and attacked Andrade for turning over documents to prosecutors.
"There is no basis to do an investigation on these facts," DeSantis claimed back in May.⁷
Tell that to the grand jury, Governor.
Grand juries don’t get convened unless prosecutors believe they have evidence of serious crimes.
These are typically reserved for high-level felony and public corruption cases.
The fact that Campbell – a moderate Democrat who’s clashed with liberal leaders in Tallahassee – is moving forward with criminal proceedings tells you everything you need to know about the strength of the evidence.
For Casey DeSantis, this scandal represents the end of her political ambitions before they really began.
The woman who wanted to be Florida’s next Governor could instead become Florida’s next defendant.
And for voters who believed the DeSantis brand represented clean government and conservative values, this Hope Florida scheme reveals something much different – a family operation willing to abuse taxpayer resources for political gain.
The subpoenas are flying, the grand jury is convening, and the walls are closing in on Casey DeSantis.
Her hope for higher office just turned into a criminal nightmare.
¹ Tampa Bay Times, "Prosecutors convening grand jury in Hope Florida investigation," October 3, 2025.
² Tampa Bay Times, "Prosecutors convening grand jury in Hope Florida investigation," October 3, 2025.
³ Gabrielle Russon, "Subpoenas are flying over Hope Florida scandal with grand jury reportedly imminent," October 3, 2025.
⁴ USA Today Network, "Reports: Tallahassee grand jury to probe Hope Florida scandal," October 3, 2025.
⁵ Tampa Bay Times, "Prosecutors convening grand jury in Hope Florida investigation," October 3, 2025.
⁶ Tampa Bay Times, "Prosecutors convening grand jury in Hope Florida investigation," October 3, 2025.
⁷ Tampa Bay Times, "Prosecutors convening grand jury in Hope Florida investigation," October 3, 2025.
