Kissimmee Mayor Jackie Espinosa was arrested Wednesday morning on charges of grand theft and organized scheme to defraud, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced.
Uthmeier posted about the arrest on social media, but did not immediately provide details about the alleged crimes.
Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia says his office's auditing team and Criminal Investigations Division helped identify "the alleged misuse of taxpayer dollars," leading to an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
"Public service should never be self-service, and Jackie Espinosa will now have to answer for taking from the taxpayers," Ingoglia said in a statement sent to 10 Tampa Bay News.
Espinosa was elected to serve as Kissimmee's mayor in November 2024.
Her arrest follows a separate ethics investigation involving $50,000 in COVID-19 relief grants awarded to businesses connected to Espinosa and her family through the city's BOOST 2.0 program.
In September, the Florida Commission on Ethics found probable cause that Espinosa had violated state ethics laws. She later agreed to a proposed public reprimand and $2,000 civil penalty, pending approval from a judge.
Espinosa previously defended the grant awards, saying the businesses qualified for the funding and claiming the investigation was politically motivated.
In August, Espinosa survived an attempt to impeach her over the controversy in a deadlocked 2-2 vote by the city council.
Authorities have not yet confirmed whether the criminal charges are directly connected to the grant investigation.
Uthmeier is scheduled to hold a news conference at 2 p.m. today at the Attorney General's Office in Orlando, alongside Ingoglia and FDLE Commissioner Mark Keefe, to announce more details about the arrest. 10 Tampa Bay News will stream the news conference live on our free app.
