Florida CFO asks FDLE to probe Kissimmee Mayor’s COVID-19 relief fund dealings

Espinosa has said publicly that her husband, not her, applied for the grants

Kissimmee mayor’s family received $50,000 in COVID grants; Florida DOGE seeks documents State agency requests documents on BOOST 2.0 program weeks after Channel 9 revealed grants went to businesses owned by Mayor Jackie Espinoza’s relatives

By Brody Wooddell and Shannon Butler

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Florida’s chief financial officer is asking the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate Kissimmee Mayor Jackie Espinosa after a Channel 9 investigation into the city’s BOOST 2.0 program.

Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia told Channel 9 that his office referred the matter to FDLE’s public corruption unit.

Kissimmee Mayor Jackie Espinosa Espinosa has said publicly that her husband, not her, applied for the grants. “My husband is not an elected official,” Espinosa said during a December commission meeting.

As you know, our office conducts a lot of different audits,” Ingoglia told Channel 9. “When we started looking into the audit for Kissimmee, some very concerning and disturbing irregularities arose out of the Kissimmee mayor and a grant program.”

“So we have now referred that over to Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s public corruption unit, and we’ve also sent it to the local and state ethics authorities,” Ingoglia said.

The request follows months of questions surrounding the BOOST 2.0 program, which was created to distribute leftover COVID-19 relief funds to businesses affected by the pandemic.

Channel 9 previously reported that Espinosa and her businesses received $50,000 from the program after she initiated it during a city commission meeting last year.

Espinosa has said publicly that her husband, not her, applied for the grants.

“My husband is not an elected official,” Espinosa said during a December commission meeting.

At that same meeting, Espinosa defended her family and the businesses that received funding.

“I will defend what’s mine. I will defend my family in spite of the criticism that are absolutely unfounded,” Espinosa said.

Channel 9’s reporting drew the attention of Ingoglia, who asked the city to turn over records in January.

Ingoglia said his office has also sent the matter to local and state ethics authorities.

The Kissimmee City Commission previously voted to have Espinosa investigated for possible impeachment proceedings.

Channel 9 has reached out to Espinosa for comment.

This is a developing story. Watch Channel 9 Eyewitness News at noon for the latest updates.

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