Court Erases the Hope Florida Grand Jury Report. The $10 Million Trail Is Still on the Record.
An appeals court threw out the report. The money path from a Medicaid settlement to an anti-marijuana campaign committee is still documented, and two officials tied to it are on the Nov. 3 ballot.
TALLAHASSEE — A Florida appeals court has wiped the Hope Florida grand jury report from the record. The money trail it described has not gone anywhere. Campaign records and court filings still show $10 million from a Medicaid settlement passing through a charity tied to First Lady Casey DeSantis, and $8.5 million of it reaching a political committee run by the man who is now Florida's attorney general. That man, James Uthmeier, is on the Nov. 3 ballot. So is Sen. Ashley Moody, whose office signed the settlement.
On Oct. 7, the 1st District Court of Appeal ordered the Leon County grand jury's report expunged in full. The court held that a grand jury cannot declare that the law was broken and then charge no one, and it found that the $10 million was never public money. Judge Lance Neff, a DeSantis appointee, wrote the opinion. No one appeared in court to defend the report, according to the Florida Trident. The ruling is not final until any motion for rehearing is decided.
Where the money went
In 2024, Centene, a Medicaid contractor, agreed to pay Florida about $67 million over alleged overbilling. The settlement sent $10 million to the Hope Florida Foundation with no limits on how it could be used. These steps are documented in campaign finance and court records reported by PolitiFact, CBS News Miami and others:
The Hope Florida Foundation gave $5 million each to two nonprofits, Secure Florida's Future and Save Our Society From Drugs.
Those groups sent a combined $8.5 million to Keep Florida Clean, the committee fighting the 2024 recreational marijuana amendment. Uthmeier, then DeSantis's chief of staff, chaired it.
Moody, then attorney general, was a party to the settlement. Her chief deputy, John Guard, signed it. DeSantis later appointed Guard to a state appeals court.
The amendment won 56% of the vote, short of the 60% it needed.
What the report said, and why it is gone
The grand jury filed its report under seal on Jan. 28. CBS News Miami obtained and published it on Aug. 26. According to CBS's reporting, the jurors concluded the $10 million had been misappropriated as part of a scheme to fund political activity, but brought no charges. CBS reported that the report described Moody authorizing Guard to sign. The report did not allege wrongdoing by Casey DeSantis.
The appeals court rejected those conclusions. Its majority said the Legislature never made the payment illegal. It also faulted State Attorney Jack Campbell's office for emailing the sealed report to dozens of recipients in January, and treated that as a separate reason to erase it.
On Oct. 9, the same court ordered Campbell to explain under oath why a special master should not investigate the leak and why he should not be sanctioned or referred to The Florida Bar, according to Florida Voice News. FMNN could not find a public response from Campbell.
What they say
DeSantis called the ruling a vindication and said whoever leaked the report should be prosecuted, CBS12 reported. Uthmeier said law enforcement is looking into the leak. He has called the Hope Florida investigation a politically motivated witch hunt. Moody has said her office signed the settlement along with other agencies, as is standard, and had no knowledge of how the money would be spent.
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said the expungement does not change what the grand jury found. Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell has said her office is reviewing whether any crime was committed in her circuit; Central Florida Public Media reported she has not opened a formal criminal investigation.
FMNN asked the offices of Attorney General James Uthmeier, Sen. Ashley Moody and Gov. Ron DeSantis for comment before publication. None responded by publication time. Responses will be added here if they arrive.
What's next
Uthmeier faces Democrat José Javier Rodríguez for attorney general. Moody faces Democrat Angie Nixon and no-party candidate Neil J. Gillespie for U.S. Senate. Early voting runs through Oct. 31 in every county; Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Find your county's dates and sites in our Tampa Bay Voter Guide.
Disclosure: FMNN has endorsed Angie Nixon for U.S. Senate in an editorial. This news story is separate from our opinion pages.
How we reported this: This story was drafted with AI assistance from the sources listed below and checked against them by an editor before publication. FMNN did not obtain the grand jury report independently; we rely on CBS News Miami's reporting about it.
Sources
- Florida Trident, Oct. 8, 2026 — Court erases Hope Florida grand jury report after shutting out anyone who would defend it
- WLRN, Oct. 8, 2026 — DeSantis triumphant after Hope Florida grand jury report expunged
- CBS12, Oct. 8, 2026 — DeSantis claims Hope Florida victory, turns attention to report's leaker
- WCTV via WWSB, Oct. 8, 2026 — Appeals court rules Hope Florida grand jury report should be expunged
- Florida Voice News, Oct. 2026 — 1st DCA orders Campbell to explain Hope Florida leak under oath
- Bay News 9, Oct. 8, 2026 — Political Connections: reaction to the ruling
- CBS News Miami, Aug. 26, 2026 — Grand jury report on Hope Florida
- CBS News Miami, Aug. 27, 2026 — Grand jury report on Moody's role
- PolitiFact, Aug. 13, 2026 — Ashley Moody, Hope Florida and the Medicaid settlement
- Fox 49, Aug. 2026 — Sen. Ashley Moody disputes reports on Hope Florida
- Central Florida Public Media, Oct. 7, 2026 — State Attorney Monique Worrell reviewing Hope Florida
- Tampa Bay Times, Sept. 3, 2026 — Rodríguez vs. Uthmeier
- NBC Miami, Nov. 5, 2024 — Florida voters reject Amendment 3
Updates and corrections
No corrections as of publication.
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