A criminal investigation related to millions of dollars steered from a Florida Medicaid settlement to the state-created Hope Florida Foundation entered a new phase on Tuesday, with two key figures appearing to have testified before a grand jury.
State Rep. Alex Andrade, a Republican who led a House investigation this spring into whether Medicaid settlement money was passed through the foundation to a political committee controlled by the governor’s chief of staff, was seen entering the Leon County Courthouse about 12:30 p.m. Andrade has accused Florida’s attorney general and the charity’s lawyer of using the Medicaid settlement to fund a campaign to defeat an amendment last year to legalize recreational marijuana.
Also seen entering the courthouse: Amy Ronshausen, whose St. Petersburg-based anti-drug nonprofit last year received $5 million from the Hope Florida Foundation. The following day, her nonprofit made the first of three donations totaling $4.75 million to the political committee run by DeSantis’ chief of staff, James Uthmeier, who is now Florida’s attorney general.
The State Attorney’s Office in Leon County has not confirmed the existence of a grand jury investigation into the foundation, but two sources familiar with the matter told the Herald/Times last week that a grand jury had issued subpoenas to witnesses.
Go to Herald.com for the full report.

