TALLAHASSEE—Hope Florida, the charity founded by Gov. Ron DeSantis's wife, is using lawyer Mohammad Jazil to help fix its legal issues, prompted by reports that it funneled millions to groups trying to defeat a marijuana amendment and hasn't paid its taxes.
The snag?
Jazil represented the anti-marijuana political committee that took in millions of dollars originating from Hope Florida. It was chaired by DeSantis's then-chief of Staff, James Uthmeier. Jazil was also part of Uthmeier's transition team into his current role as Attorney General.
At a Tuesday committee hearing, some lawmakers called it a conflict of interest.
"I'm sorry, I am a little flabbergasted at this revelation," said Republican Rep. Alex Andrade on Tuesday.
As the chair of the House Health Care Budget Subcommittee, Andrade led the 15-member panel in questioning Hope Florida President Joshua Hay, Department of Children and Families Secretary Taylor Hatch, and Hope Florida Executive Director Erik Dellenback on some of the alleged illegal activities of the non-profit, which was started by First Lady Casey DeSantis during her husband's first term.
The Tampa Bay Times first reported that the state's Medicaid agency, the Agency for Health Care Administration, quietly diverted $10 million of a $67 million state settlement to Hope Florida. Weeks later, two non-profits, Secure Florida's Future and Save Our Society from Drugs, requested $5 million apiece from the foundation in nearly identical letters.
Those groups then funneled that money toward Keep Florida Clean, Uthmeier's committee created to destroy a proposed amendment to legalize recreational marijuana.
Andrade said that Uthmeier personally directed the non-profit heads to request the money.
"Jazil is the chairman of the PAC that received these illicit funds...Understanding that Mr. Jazil's the counsel for the Keep Florida Clean PAC, does that raise concerns for you if he's acting in your best interests in papering the documents to justify this $10 million illicit transfer?" Andrade asked Hay, who said he wasn't aware of the potential conflict of interest.
Hay claimed that Hope Florida's registered agent, Jeff Aaron, a lawyer, was the one who suggested the foundation hire Jazil. Hay also said Aaron assured him all of the payments were "above board."
This was Andrade's second Hope Florida-centered committee hearing, which was held at the same time as DeSantis's long-ranging press conference in Andrade's district, where he lauded Hope Florida and bashed House Republicans.
Andrade closed out the Tuesday meeting by promising to ask Jazil, Aaron, and the heads of Save Our Society and Secure Florida's Future to appear at next week's committee hearing. He also wants members of the governor's office, DCF, and AHCA to provide all communications related to Hope Florida.
"If they do not provide that information in a timely manner, we may be required to obtain that information with the use of subpoenas," the Pensacola Republican added.
