Group that got $5M from Hope Florida spent it without board knowing, chairman says
One of the nonprofits that received millions from the Hope Florida Foundation last year took in and spent the money without the knowledge of its board of directors, the group’s chairman wrote Wednesday in a resignation letter.
James Holton, chairman of St. Petersburg-based Save Our Society from Drugs, said he was resigning from the board after consulting with his attorney. He said the board had been unaware that its executive director had accepted $5 million from the foundation, a nonprofit set up to support the Hope Florida program championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and his wife.
He also said the board did not know the executive director then gave millions to a political committee fighting against a campaign to legalize recreational marijuana. Instead, he said, he learned about the transactions in news reports.
“In light of this, I continue to believe that this situation begs a thorough investigation and audits by third parties on behalf of” Save Our Society from Drugs, Holton wrote in his resignation letter, obtained Thursday by the Herald/Times.
Efforts on Thursday to reach Holton and the executive director, Amy Ronshausen, were unsuccessful.
Holton’s statements are the latest revelations about a controversy that has rocked Tallahassee.
A Herald/Times investigation revealed this year that a Medicaid contractor that overbilled the state for services was directed by the DeSantis administration to divert $10 million from a larger settlement away from state coffers and into the Hope Florida Foundation. The foundation, created to support the first lady’s Hope Florida program in its mission to connect people in need of government services with churches and faith-based charities, then split the $10 million evenly between two non-profits that donated most of the money to a political committee controlled by the governor’s then-chief of staff, James Uthmeier.
Save Our Society from Drugs was one of the recipients of the two $5 million grants. The other group was Secure Florida’s Future. Both are 501(c)(4) organizations, often referred to as “dark money” groups because they are not required to disclose their donors.
Republican state Rep. Alex Andrade, the lawmaker who led a House of Representatives investigation into the Hope Florida Foundation’s spending, told the Herald/Times that it is significant that Save Our Society from Drugs’ board was unaware of its role passing the money from the foundation to the political committee that fought the marijuana amendment.
A Hope Florida Foundation board meeting in April revealed that its own board members didn’t know where the $10 million that passed through their organization came from or whether it was public money. Andrade told the Herald/Times there was no board vote on either $5 million grant proposal from Save Our Society from Drugs or Secure Florida’s Future, a nonprofit controlled by the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
“The fact that these grants were kept from the SOS board the same way they were kept from the Foundation board further implicates the individuals who knew what was going on,” Andrade said in a text message. “Who on earth would hide a $5,000,000 grant from the Governor’s office from their own board?”
Internal turmoil at Save Our Society from Drugs
Andrade has said he uncovered a “conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud,” arguing that Uthmeier helped steer Medicaid money into his own political committee, Keep Florida Clean. It’s illegal to divert federal money like Medicaid. It’s also against IRS rules for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit like the Foundation to spend a significant portion of its money on political causes, as is being alleged.
DeSantis and Uthmeier, now Florida’s attorney general, have dismissed Andrade’s allegations as a smear campaign. On Wednesday, first lady Casey DeSantis, who spearheaded the Hope Florida program, said she has been undeterred by “slanderous, false accusations.”
Ronshausen, a key witness in the House’s investigation, has said that Andrade has mischaracterized their conversation about the organization’s grant from the Hope Florida Foundation to exaggerate Uthmeier’s involvement in the movement of the money. She maintains that she was coerced into sharing information, including text messages with Uthmeier, with Andrade. Andrade says neither accusation is true.
Ronshausen was suspended on April 22 from her job at Save Our Society from Drugs, according to a whistle blower complaint she sent to Holton on May 7. She alleged that her suspension as executive director was part of a retaliation campaign for activities that included her communication with Andrade and her objections to hiring outside attorneys that had worked for one of Florida’s medical marijuana dispensaries.
“At all times, I acted lawfully and in full alignment with SOS’s mission,” wrote Ronshausen, who demanded “full reinstatement.”
The organization is now considering reinstating Ronshausen, according to Holton, a Tampa attorney who has been appointed by governors to several public boards, including the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
Holton said he appreciated the board wanting to reinstate Ronshausen to put the matter behind them and to “avoid the need for litigation,” an apparent nod to Ronshausen’s complaint. But he objected to bringing her back.
“I also believe it is just not prudent or good governance to reinstate Amy prior to the completion of a full forensic audit by a third-party auditor and completion of any possible investigation by law enforcement and the Florida House of Representatives,” Holton wrote.
He added: “Such a premature reinstatement, in my opinion, could subject SOS, the Board and all Board members individually to additional scrutiny by various governmental bodies and may expose individual Board members to personal liability.”
This story was originally published May 15, 2025 at 4:27 PM.