A grand jury investigating the diversion of millions of dollars in public funds to the Hope Florida Foundation has produced a presentment that remains confidential while a legal challenge plays out, the Florida Trident has learned through official responses to public records requests.
A presentment is a report by a grand jury that is intended to publicly express its views of governmental misconduct, inefficiency or misuse of public funds when that conduct falls short of a chargeable crime as long as it arises from a lawful inquiry the grand jury was empowered to conduct.
A review of online court records in Leon County did not reveal any pending legal proceedings relating to the grand jury presentment. At least three case numbers during the relevant time period appear to be sealed.
The state grand jury was convened in October 2025 by State Attorney Jack Campbell, the top prosecutor in the Tallahassee area, after a Florida House committee investigation spearheaded by Republican Rep. Alex Andrade of Pensacola.
The dispute centers on allegations that the Hope Florida Foundation — a nonprofit created to support Hope Florida, First Lady Casey DeSantis’ signature welfare-assistance initiative — received a $10 million “donation” connected to a legal settlement between the State of Florida and Medicaid contractor Centene. The state had accused Centene of over billing Medicaid by $67 million.
After receiving the money from Centene, the Hope Florida Foundation wired two $5 million grants to Secure Florida’s Future and Save Our Society From Drugs. Those groups later routed millions to Keep Florida Clean, a political committee formed to oppose Amendment 3, the failed ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana.
James Uthmeier, now Florida’s attorney general, is a central figure because he chaired Keep Florida Clean while he was Gov. Ron DeSantis’ chief of staff. DeSantis appointed Uthmeier attorney general weeks before the controversy became public in April 2025, after Ashley Moody left the post when she was appointed by DeSantis to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
After investigating the diversion of public funds, Andrade publicly accused Uthmeier of wire fraud and money laundering in connection with the flow of funds and forwarded his findings to Campbell. Both DeSantis and Uthmeier deny wrongdoing.
Earlier this month, DeSantis and Uthmeier celebrated after a post on X by an unidentified source said federal prosecutors declined to pursue the matter.
According to a recent report from the Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald, Uthmeier was asked whether he’d received a presentment from the state grand jury and he responded: “I’m not sure what I’m allowed to say publicly or not on that.”’
Andrade, asked by the Trident about the presentment, said: “I’m not sure what I’m legally allowed to discuss.”
Multiple emails and phone calls to DeSantis and Uthmeier seeking comment on the grand jury presentment — including whether either had initiated a legal challenge to it — were not returned before publication.
The records request
The Feb. 8 records request sought two items:
- A copy of the grand jury presentment relating to the investigation of Hope Florida Foundation and related individuals.
- A copy of all motions and pleadings in connection with any challenge to the grand jury presentment relating to the investigation of Hope Florida Foundation and related individuals.
In an email response to the request, the State Attorney’s Office for the Second Judicial Circuit said the sought-after materials are “confidential” under Florida law, directing further questions to the office’s general counsel, Eddie Evans.
Evans spoke to the Trident but declined to provide any information beyond citing the statute that includes confidentiality of grand jury presentments while a legal challenge is pending.
Because those were the only records requested, the state attorney’s office’s decision to invoke secrecy for the requested presentment and any court-related proceedings is significant.
“If no presentment or court filings challenging existed, there would be no responsive records to withhold — and no need to invoke an exemption grounded in grand jury secrecy,” said Andrea Flynn Mogensen, a criminal defense attorney with expertise in public records law.
“Florida law requires an agency to cite a statutory exemption to the actual records requested,” Mogensen added. “Invoking the exemption necessarily means the presentment exists.”
Public interest in release
The Hope Florida controversy has shaken the public’s confidence in its government, said Ben Wilcox, the Executive Director of Integrity Florida.
Wilcox was critical of any effort to hide the grand jury presentment, noting the donation was part of a settlement that should have been returned to taxpayers. “Those funds were diverted and used in a political campaign. That crossed a bright line because it is improper to use public funds for political purposes.”
Wilcox added that the report should be made available to restore the public’s confidence.
“Hiding the findings of the grand jury only exacerbates the problem and causes the public to lose even more confidence in their government. The public needs to finally know what happened.”
What Florida law says about presentments
Florida Statute 905.28 lays out when a report or presentment can be made public when it is not accompanied by a criminal indictment.
Under the statute, a grand jury “report or presentment” relating to an individual, when not paired with an indictment, is confidential and exempt from Florida’s public records laws. The statute requires notice to any person named and provides a 15-day window to file a motion asking the circuit court to “repress or expunge” portions that are alleged to be improper or unlawful.
Confidentiality does not automatically end after that 15-day window if a challenge is filed. Any motion to repress or expunge — whether granted or denied — can delay public release until the circuit court’s ruling is resolved on appeal or the time to appeal expires.
In short: even if a grand jury has finished its work and returned a presentment, Florida law keeps the presentment confidential while a legal challenge is pending.
However, the statute’s confidentiality provisions apply to the presentment itself; court filings are presumed to be open to the public unless a judge seals them — an issue that is relevant here given the sealed Leon County case numbers. Any order sealing court records is required to be published on the Clerk’s website and in a prominent location within the courthouse.
In 2022, a Florida appellate court noted that grand juries have a “reporting” function in addition to their power to return indictments. The decision describes the post-presentment review process under the statute as narrow. A judge does not reweigh evidence. Any review is confined to the face of the presentment itself to determine whether the challenged comments are supported within the report and are relevant to a lawful investigation.
In a 1977 decision, the Florida Supreme Court treated the press as a proper participant in any proceeding seeking to repress a grand jury presentment. The case involved an investigation into the conduct of two Florida Highway patrolmen involved in a fatal shooting. Neither patrolman was indicted, but the grand jury’s presentment described acts of misconduct by the patrolmen in the performance of their duties and offered recommendations.
The court opinion noted the benefits of transparency from the grand jury’s report, stating “implicit in the power of the grand jury to investigate and expose official misconduct is the right of the people to be informed of its findings.”
Wilcox questioned the motives of public officials who might be challenging release of the report. “The question for public officials is what do they have to hide? If they did nothing wrong, why not allow the public to know?”
Michael Barfield is an award-winning investigative reporter who helps strengthen transparency and accountability across Florida. He assists reporters and the public with public records questions and requests, and he oversees and supports the organization’s litigation to enforce open government. He’s a frequent lecturer on Florida’s Public Records Act and Sunshine Law, serves on the governance committee of Investigative Reporters & Editors, and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Barfield is a former President of the ACLU of Florida, a life member of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and has twice been named by Sarasota Magazine as one of the most influential people in Sarasota. He lives in Sarasota with his wife, Iru. The Florida Trident is an investigative news outlet focusing on government accountability and transparency across Florida. The Trident was created and first published in 2022 by the Florida Center for Government Accountability, a non-profit organization that facilitates local investigative reporting across the state.
