Former federal prosecutors see potential charges in Hope Florida saga [View all]

“The alleged conduct suggests potential violations of several federal felony statutes,” a former prosecutor said.

A Republican lawmaker shocked Florida’s political world when he accused representatives of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration of committing federal crimes by diverting $10 million from a Medicaid settlement to political activities last year.

No one has been charged, and DeSantis administration officials have denied wrongdoing. But four former federal prosecutors told the Times/Herald that Rep. Alex Andrade could be on strong legal ground.

At least eight different federal charges, from theft of government funds to money laundering, could be investigated related to the dollars that passed through the Hope Florida Foundation, they said.

Those statutes could carry sentences of decades in prison. The former prosecutors said that anyone who misdirected Medicaid money could be ensnared.

Whether the federal government will investigate is another question.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2025/05/01/hope-florida-desantis-casey-medicaid-former-prosecutors/

Yet nothing will be done. At the state level this apparent blatant corruption -- using public funds for political uses -- won't be investigated by Florida's Republican AG, since he's implicated in directing the distribution of these funds. And our nation's AG is Florida's former AG, who herself is known to look the other way when it comes to suspicious money transfers. Republicans believe everyone is as corrupt as they are.