The recent leak of a sealed grand jury report is the latest – and most revealing – development in a probe that began last year examining how $10 million was funneled through the Hope Florida Foundation to a political committee that opposed legalized marijuana.
In April 2025, Republican state Representative Robert “Alex” Andrade led committee hearings in Tallahassee seeking answers about the payment, which originated from a settlement with a Medicaid contractor. No legislative action was taken at the time, in part because several important witnesses did not appear before the House Healthcare Budget Subcommittee chaired by Andrade.
“Ten million dollars is a lot of money,” Andrade said at the time. “If someone defrauded the state or a charity out of $10 million, they would go to prison. That occurred.”
Records show Andrade’s findings were later shared with Jack Campbell, the Democratic state attorney of Leon County, who convened a grand jury.
In August 2025, that grand jury voted to inquire about the fraud and abuse allegations, the leaked report shows.
The grand jury later concluded the “$10 million in question was misappropriated” and that “taxpayer money was misused for political purposes”, according to the leaked report.
The report noted that Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who previously served as the governor’s chief of staff, “was in a position of authority over those involved in settling” with Medicaid contractor Centene and had been accused by witnesses of “having involvement in directing the money after it went to Hope Florida.”
However, the grand jury found insufficient evidence to charge anyone criminally because “no witness would take responsibility for the decision or had any memory of who made it,” the report shows.
The grand jury report was filed with the Leon County clerk of court on January 28, according to a stamp on the leaked document.
Under Florida law, grand jury reports relating to specific individuals are confidential and exempt from release until the individuals are given 15 days to file a motion seeking to “repress or expunge the report”.
In late February, the Florida Center For Government Accountability reported that the grand jury had produced a report but it was not being released.
During an April 8 news conference in Miami, a reporter questioned Uthmeier about it.
“Have you asked the court to keep the grand jury findings in the Hope Florida investigation secret, and if so, why?” the reporter asked.
“I don’t think anybody cares about this topic any more than the liberal media,” Uthmeier replied. “There was a grand jury proceeding. Under Florida law the contents thereof are confidential. That’s not my choice. That is Florida law. What I can tell you is, I have not been indicted. I have not been a suspect or a target. I have not been involved in any criminal activity. Nobody did anything wrong here.”
Last month, a copy of the sealed grand jury report was leaked to CBS News Miami reporter Jim DeFede.
“Our story has set off a political firestorm across the state,” DeFede said during the August 30 edition of Facing South Florida.
Many political observers believe the timing of the leak, which occurred shortly after the Florida primary election, was done to make the information public before the November general election.
“This may well be the most brazen act of political corruption we have seen here in Florida,” Jose Javier Rodriguez said last week. He is the former Democratic state senator seeking to unseat Uthmeier as Florida attorney general.
Uthmeier has said the person who leaked the grand jury report to CBS News Miami broke the law, and that reporters who ask about the confidential proceedings may also be in violation of state statutes.
“Are you trying to solicit a crime here in violation of the law?” Uthmeier asked News 6 reporter Mark Lehman during a news conference last week after Lehman inquired about the grand jury report.
It remains unclear when – if ever – a Leon County judge will authorize the official release of the grand jury report.