Florida’s First District Court of Appeal has struck down a grand jury report examining the transfer of $10 million from a Medicaid-related settlement to the Hope Florida Foundation, delivering a legal and political victory to Gov. Ron DeSantis while leaving questions about the transaction’s origins unresolved. The court ruled that the $10 million paid by health insurer Centene never became state money. It also concluded that the grand jury went beyond its authority by identifying people as potentially responsible for wrongdoing after deciding not to indict anyone. “A grand jury may investigate and report, but it may not declare conduct unlawful and then decline to charge it,” the court wrote. The opinion was issued Wednesday and written by Judge Lance Neff, whom DeSantis appointed to the appeals court in March. DeSantis celebrated the ruling at a Thursday news conference in Miami, calling the allegations of misappropriation a “hoax” and saying the decision vindicated his administration. Former chief of staff James Uthmeier, now Florida’s attorney general, also praised the decision. The dispute centers on a 2024 agreement resolving a billing dispute with Centene. Under the settlement, $57 million went to Florida, while an additional $10 million went directly from Centene to the Hope Florida Foundation, a nonprofit supporting the initiative associated with first lady Casey DeSantis. The state had previously been told of the billing issue, but settlement talks accelerated in 2024 as DeSantis and Uthmeier were campaigning against a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana. The grand jury and a legislative committee later examined how the $10 million moved. The grand jury said the money passed from the foundation through two nonprofit organizations before reaching Keep Florida Clean, a political committee opposing the amendment. The committee and grand jury concluded the foundation had been used as a conduit. DeSantis has defended the grants to the intermediary groups as appropriate. The appeals court’s decision turned in part on its view that the settlement money was not public funds. Centene calculated that it had overbilled Florida by $57 million and offered the extra $10 million to resolve other potential claims, according to the settlement details described in the case. The grand jury viewed the additional payment as part of the settlement and therefore taxpayer money. Former deputy attorney general John Guard told the grand jury he had reservations about the agreement and said he regarded the $10 million as belonging to Florida. The court did not, however, bar the grand jury from reporting on the movement of funds as it related to public officials and the Hope Florida Foundation. Its ruling focused on the grand jury’s authority to name individuals and characterize their conduct as criminal-like without returning indictments. That leaves a central question unresolved: who decided Centene’s additional payment should go to the foundation rather than to the state? The grand jury heard witnesses say they could not remember key details. U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, a Republican, has also called for answers and said the money should be returned to the state for health care needs. The court proceedings were conducted in secret, and Leon County State Attorney Jack Campbell did not participate in the appeals arguments. DeSantis said the decision put the controversy to rest; the ruling itself leaves open scrutiny of how public officials handled the transfer and the foundation’s role.