TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – On Tuesday, members of the Home Well being Care Finances Subcommittee questioned the chairman and government director of the Hope Florida Basis, together with the Secretary of the Division of Youngsters and Households, following rising issues over the muse’s monetary reporting and a controversial $10 million distribution.
The scrutiny comes after current experiences revealed that the state reached a pre-suit settlement with the Centene Entities, through which the Hope Florida Basis acquired $10 million. Lawmakers and several other media shops have raised questions concerning the legality and transparency of that settlement – together with the place the cash was distributed to.
Final Friday, the Miami Herald reported that the $10 million was distributed to 2 teams: Save Our Society from Medicine and Safe Florida’s Future, Inc.
Joshua Hay, chairman of the Hope Florida Basis, opened the listening to by acknowledging the controversy.
“In current weeks, the general public reporting has made evident that errors had been made,” Hay stated.
Hay, who serves in a volunteer, unpaid function, instructed lawmakers he has been working with the muse’s basic counsel to deal with these errors, together with the submission of a delinquent IRS Type 990 and different legally required documentation.
He acknowledged that he’s at the moment reviewing financial institution information, has referred to as a board assembly, and intends to launch extra info to each the general public and the subcommittee within the coming days.
“Like all of you, I’m keen to grasp how these funds had been utilized,” Hay stated.
Relating to the $10 million in grants distributed late final yr, Hay maintained that the disbursements had been reviewed by the muse’s basic counsel and gave the impression to be reputable on the time.
“As for the $10 million in grants that had been made on the finish of final yr, these distributions had been made after my evaluate and reviewed by the muse’s basic counsel. I had no motive to imagine there was something odd about these grants,” Hay stated.
BREAKING: State Rep. Alex Andrade suggests the Hope Florida Basis recoup the $10 million given to 2 teams after a $10M state authorized settlement if it was used for political functions
Basis President Joshua Hay: “I believe all the cash that goes into the muse… pic.twitter.com/zvVCTVXRUm
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) April 15, 2025
Andrade pointed to basis assembly minutes which state that every one grant proposals should be authorised by the board. Nonetheless, he alleged {that a} $5 million grant proposal from Save Our Society was submitted after a board assembly and the funds had been issued “instantly – with out a board vote.”
“I believe all the cash that goes into the muse ought to certainly be used for the needs meant, and that’s to assist bolster and assist households in want,” Hay stated.
“With the recommendation of counsel, I’ll seek the advice of with the counsel to see what acceptable actions that we might be able to take for particular person recipients and organizational recipients who might not have used these funds as meant,” Hay continued.
Andrade pressed Hay additional: “Understanding that the cash, after it was transferred out of Florida Basis’s account, was instantly turned over to a political committee managed by Mr. Uthmeier, do you imagine that could be a correct objective and use of these funds?”
Hay responded: “I had no consciousness of that, and all I may go off of was there have been the assertions made within the proposal, and that was that there can be no use for political actions… I’m undecided if [it] was or was not used for political functions… [we might] doubtlessly claw again funds that aren’t used [properly].”
He emphasised that he couldn’t speculate about how the funds had been in the end used and stated that the Basis doesn’t have any “monitoring procedures” and “no employees.”
Andrade then confronted Hay with alleged findings from Florida’s public elections database.
“Properly, fortunately due to our Florida elections database we do know what that cash was used on. Do you imagine that donating the cash to the Republican Celebration of Florida, donating it to Governor DeSantis’s Florida Freedom Fund PAC, or paying for authorized companies and promoting are correct makes use of of these funds out of Hope Florida Basis’s account?” Andrade stated.
Hay responded, “I don’t need to opine on any make any opinions on what I imagine was acceptable. All I can go off of it primarily based on the details and the very fact of the matter is that we had no monitoring procedures for the muse, so I might reasonably not present any private opinions on that matter.”
In the meantime, on the identical time Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis fired again at Republican lawmakers, accusing them of “colluding” with Democrats and liberal media to “smear” the Hope Florida Basis, the governor, and the primary girl.
‘YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT!’: DeSantis goes off on Republicans within the legislature, says they’re “colluding” with Democrats and media shops to “smear” Hope Florida
“You bought a cabal of them within the management. They’re colluding with liberal media and the… pic.twitter.com/LUTQxnHhrL
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) April 15, 2025
Throughout an unrelated press convention on Monday, Uthmeier was requested by a reporter concerning the authorized settlement that was used to “battle Modification 3.”
In response, Uthmeier emphasised that the Hope Florida Basis operates independently, with its personal board of administrators, and made its personal choices relating to grant distribution.
“The unbiased basis, which has its personal board, made its personal choice to present beneficiant assist to different not-for-profits that, by the way in which, already work with the entity and share that very same mission: serving to mothers, serving to households, defending our children — that’s completely superb. There’s nothing flawed with that,” he stated.
Uthmeier famous Hope Florida’s “acquired an important mission – Hope Florida has helped 1000’s of individuals on this state – the First Girl has been an important champion for it – I do know the press needs to spin this as her group.”
On the finish of Tuesday’s assembly, Andrade stated he can be asking for communications, together with texts, relating to the Hope Florida Basis from Hay, DCF, the governor’s workplace, and others. He stated they could subpoena the communications if they aren’t given in a well timed method.
Uthmeier’s Communications Director Jeremy Redfern stated Monday morning, replying to a reporter’s X publish a few potential subpoena: “That is an unserious probe being pushed by an unserious consultant who’s carrying the water for the very mega-marijuana company that spent over $150 million within the effort to permit unrestricted public marijuana use and misplaced.”
Not shocked that the leftist media didn’t embody the remark I gave them final night time.
Anyway… right here’s my response to this nonsense:
That is an unserious probe being pushed by an unserious consultant who’s carrying the water for the very mega-marijuana company that… https://t.co/JIW2EqjEGF— Jeremy Redfern (@JeremyRedfernFL) April 15, 2025
Andrade additionally stated he had “severe issues about Hold Florida Clear’s lawyer – additionally serving because the Hope Florida Basis’s lawyer” and requested the Basis to “rethink that relationship and work with DCF and solely DCF workers and attorneys at DCF to get your paperwork into compliance.”
“I’ve severe issues about what is perhaps occurring within the post-stating of documentation to aim to justify and canopy up what truly occurred,” Andrade stated.
Florida’s Voice will proceed to observe this story.
