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The official was formally charged with grand theft and fraud in connection with three of her companies obtaining $50,000 from a municipal program
Washington, D.C. — Kissimmee Mayor, Puerto Rican Jackie Espinosa, was arrested Wednesday after being charged with grand theft and an organized scheme to defraud, offenses that could carry a sentence of up to 30 years in prison if she is convicted.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and the state’s chief financial officer (CFO), Blaise Ingoglia, confirmed that the charges stem from three companies owned by Espinosa or her husband receiving $50,000 from the city’s Business Boost 2.0 program, which was funded with federal money intended to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The arrest warrant charges Espinosa with one count of grand theft, a second-degree felony, and one count of an “organized scheme to defraud” involving $50,000, a first-degree felony.
Florida authorities said the mayor, who was elected in 2024, controlled the application process in which she participated and failed to disclose that the requested funds were intended for businesses owned by her or her husband.
“When you’re part of a government program to distribute money and then fill out multiple applications to receive that money, it’s pretty hard to say you didn’t know what you were doing,” Attorney General Uthmeier said. The Republican is seeking reelection on November 3 as head of Florida’s Department of Justice.
Ingoglia said the case “is the local government equivalent of insider trading in Congress.”
According to prosecutors, Espinosa and family members submitted applications for the three companies they owned or controlled on the same day in September 2025. They were among the first applicants for the funds, which were intended to assist businesses.
In total, they requested $50,000, which was approved and deposited into accounts linked to the Espinosa family on November 7, 2025, according to the charges.
The original report by special prosecutor Mayanne Downs, who initially investigated the case, detailed that Adanse LLC, owned by Espinosa, received a $20,000 grant. Another Espinosa-owned company, Kissimmee Diner Inc., received $15,000. Meanwhile, The Real Estate Gallery LLC, owned by the mayor’s husband, received $15,000.
The indictment states that the city’s legal adviser warned Espinosa on December 5, 2025, that accepting the funds constituted a conflict of interest.
Espinosa had survived an internal removal proceeding before the city’s Municipal Council over the funds.
Kissimmee, a key destination for Puerto Rican migration to the United States, has a population in which nearly one-third of the city’s 80,000 residents are Puerto Rican.
Born in New Jersey to Puerto Rican parents, Espinosa, who was elected in 2024, owns several businesses, including the Matador restaurant and the Plaza Espinosa office building in downtown Kissimmee.
Two years ago, Espinosa won a nonpartisan runoff election against former Puerto Rican state representative John Cortés, receiving nearly 60% of the vote. The mayor identifies as a Democrat.
According to special prosecutor Downs, the $50,000 obtained by companies linked to Espinosa’s family represented 20% of the program’s first round of grants.
Puerto Rican activist Jimmy Torres Vélez said Wednesday that Espinosa’s arrest could be “another effort” by Republicans to interfere in November’s state and legislative elections, noting that the attorney general is a Republican seeking reelection.
“The only intention is to suppress the Puerto Rican vote,” Torres Vélez said, adding that the move could adversely affect the candidacy of Democratic Congressman Darren Soto, whose Central Florida 9th Congressional District was redrawn to favor Republicans and is based in Kissimmee.
Torres Vélez maintained that prosecutors had had the evidence against Espinosa “for six months.”
“Those of us who have been close to her told her it wasn’t wise to request those funds,” he said. However, he argued that after the removal effort failed in the Municipal Council, the filing of criminal charges resembled efforts by the Donald Trump administration to investigate Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar in Minnesota, with the aim of adversely affecting her reelection.
Although the city-level proceedings against Espinosa were set aside, an investigation by the Florida Commission on Ethics was still pending. The commission had found probable cause to believe that the money channeled to the family businesses was unlawful.
Meanwhile, the mayor’s attorney, Migdalia Pérez, said several months ago that Espinosa was “fully prepared to reimburse the city” if it were determined that she had committed any wrongdoing. Pérez has maintained that, at most, the matter involves ethical violations, not criminal conduct.
