The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Whistleblower Office is reviewing a claim involving $10 million in Florida Medicaid settlement money that ultimately directed millions of dollars to fight the state’s 2024 marijuana legalization initiative.
The claim was filed earlier this year by Florida State Representative Alex Andrade, the Republican lawmaker who led legislative hearings into the movement of the money.
A letter sent earlier this year by the IRS Whistleblower Office acknowledged Andrade’s filing and assigned it a claim number, according to records obtained by the Florida Trident. The subject of the claim is identified in the letter as “SECU,” which the outlet reported corresponds to Secure Florida’s Future, one of the organizations that received $5 million from the Hope Florida Foundation.
The underlying transactions were examined by a Leon County grand jury, which concluded earlier this year that $10 million associated with a Medicaid settlement between Florida and Centene Corp. had been misappropriated.
Under the settlement, $10 million was directed to the Hope Florida Foundation, an organization associated with First Lady Casey DeSantis’ Hope Florida initiative.
Hope Florida subsequently distributed $5 million each to Secure Florida’s Future and Save Our Society From Drugs.
A forensic accountant working with the grand jury traced $3.75 million from Secure Florida’s Future and $4.75 million from Save Our Society From Drugs to Keep Florida Clean, a political committee chaired by James Uthmeier, who was then Governor Ron DeSantis’ chief of staff and is now Florida attorney general.
The grand jury found that the money moved rapidly through the organizations and concluded that funds had been “misappropriated as part of a sophisticated scheme to fund political activities.”
Keep Florida Clean was organized to oppose Amendment 3, the November 2024 proposal that would have legalized recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older.
The amendment ultimately received 55.9% of the vote but failed because constitutional amendments in Florida require 60% approval.
The grand jury said testimony showed that the purpose of moving the money through the organizations was to get it to a group positioned to fight the marijuana initiative. It also found that Keep Florida Clean later transferred millions of dollars to the Republican Party of Florida.
Despite finding that the $10 million had been misappropriated, the grand jury concluded there was insufficient evidence to criminally charge any individual.
The IRS claim creates a separate federal avenue for scrutiny of the transactions, although it remains unclear whether the agency will ultimately take enforcement action. IRS guidance says whistleblower claims may be forwarded to operating divisions for examination, investigation or other compliance activity when the information is considered sufficiently specific, timely and credible.
