The mayor of the central Florida city of Kissimmee dodged an impeachment trial, only to end up in handcuffs.
Jackie Espinosa — who was born in New Jersey and elected mayor in 2024 with some Democrat support — was arrested on Wednesday morning. According to the Osceola County charging affidavit, she has been slapped with one count of first-degree felony organized scheme to defraud $50,000 or more and one second-degree felony count of grand theft of over $20,000 but less than $100,000.
'It is about public service, not self-service.'
The mayor has been dogged for months by allegations that she personally benefited from Business Boost 2.0, a COVID-19 relief grant program that she championed and helped create in September 2025. The program reportedly relies in part on federal funding made available through the American Rescue Plan Act.
In a lengthy complaint filed in March, Kissimmee resident Alex Alemi alleged that after Espinosa successfully pushed for the program's creation, three of her businesses — Adanse LLC, which is owned by the Espinosa Family Trust; Kissimmee Diner Inc.; and the Real Estate Gallery LLC, which is registered under her husband's name — applied for and received grants from Business Boost 2.0, reported the Orlando Sentinel.
The mayor and her family allegedly received at least $50,000 in funding from the program.
Espinosa admitted to the Sentinel in May, "Three of my 13 businesses got a grant, yes, of our family-owned businesses."
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Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
She claimed, however, that the federal funds that floated the program "were available way before I was the mayor."
The ethics complaint filed in March also alleged that the city's former attorney, Olga Sanchez de Fuentes, was fired for raising concerns about the grants. The city commission voted 3-1 to fire her in February, though Espinosa supported the move.
The mayor claimed that terminating Fuentes "wasn't a Jackie thing; this was a commission thing."
Public outrage prompted a months-long impeachment effort against Espinosa. However, that was thwarted in August by a deadlocked city commission vote on whether to hold an impeachment trial.
The scandal did not, however, die with the deadlocked vote.
Last month, the Florida Commission on Ethics announced that it had found probable cause that Espinosa "had an employment or contractual relationship with an entity doing business with her agency when her business accepted grant money that was administered by her agency."
Weeks later, WESH-TV reported that Espinosa agreed to a $2,000 fine as well as to a public censure and reprimand. The reprimand agreement is pending.
"After weighing the available options, I believe resolving it now is the appropriate path forward," the mayor said after agreeing to the fine. "I am ready to put this chapter behind us and focus my attention on what matters most: serving the people of Kissimmee, as I have since day one, with professionalism, integrity, and dedication."
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who made clear last week that "preventing fraud is a priority for [his] office," said during a press conference on Wednesday, "We hold corrupt public officials accountable. If you are going to abuse your office, if you are going to abuse the public trust to enrich yourself or family members, we are going to find you, and we are going to hold you accountable."
In Espinosa's case, Uthmeier claimed, "The evidence makes very clear that there was intent to engage in this conflict of interest" and that she "ultimately abused her office to enrich herself."
Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia alleged that:
seven businesses located in properties owned or managed by Jackie Espinosa's family received a combined total of $90,000 in grant funds. $50,000 went to Espinosa's businesses while $40,000 went to tenants in Espinosa's businesses. So $50,000 directly, $40,000 indirectly. During the course of the [Florida Department of Financial Services] investigation, we found that Jackie Espinosa herself applied for the grant on behalf of her family's businesses.
"Public service means that you work for the public," said Ingoglia. "It is about public service, not self-service."
If convicted, Ingoglia said that Espinosa could end up in prison for three decades.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Larry Keefe said to those wondering why this case is a big deal, "If you don't hold public officials accountable in these public corruption cases then the whole system really unravels, and that's not an exaggeration. There has to be accountability. When public officials betray the public trust, it's not just limited to them in their discrete circumstances. It diminishes the trust and credibility that the public has in all of the other public officials who are honest, who are doing a great job, who are giving their life to a noble career."
Espinosa's office did not immediately respond to Blaze News' request for comment.
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