Kissimmee Mayor Jackie Espinosa arrested and charged with grand theft and organized scheme to defraud, Florida attorney general says

As of 3:24 p.m. ET, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026

Kissimmee Mayor Jackie Espinosa was arrested Wednesday and charged with grand theft and organized scheme to defraud over $50,000 in grant money from a city COVID-19 relief program, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said.

"This morning, we arrested Kissimmee mayor Jackie Espinosa and are charging her with Grand Theft and Organized Scheme to Defraud," Uthmeier posted on X at 9:05 a.m. ET.

The arrest warrant charges Espinosa, whose full name is Eva Jacquelyn Espinosa, with one count of "Grand Theft ($20,000 to $100,000), a second-degree felony, and one count of Organized Scheme to Defraud ($50,000 or more), a first-degree felony," according to a release from the attorney general's office. The charges are in connection with $50,000 in grant funds she and her family received from a city program she helped create, the office said.

Uthmeier laid out the case at a 2 p.m. ET news conference at his office in Orlando with Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Larry Keefe.

What the state alleges

According to the investigation, Espinosa took office as mayor in November 2024 and shortly afterward advocated for and voted on the creation and expansion of the city's Business Boost 2.0 program, the attorney general's office said. The program was funded with American Rescue Plan Act dollars and was intended to provide one-time assistance to eligible small businesses in the city, according to the release.

On the same day the program opened for applications in September 2025, Espinosa and immediate family members applied on behalf of three businesses they owned or controlled, requesting a combined $50,000, the office said. The applications were approved, and the money was deposited into accounts linked to the Espinosa family on Nov. 7, 2025, according to the release.

On Dec. 5, 2025, the city attorney notified Espinosa that accepting the funds created a prohibited conflict of interest, the release said. According to the office, she was advised to return the money but declined, said she would fight any complaint and took no corrective action.

"Public officials do not get to write the rules and then write themselves a check," Uthmeier said in the release. "The mayor used her position to push a COVID relief grant program, then took $50,000 from it for her family's businesses after being warned it was prohibited."

Ingoglia said in the release that Espinosa "abused that trust and cashed in at the taxpayers' expense." Keefe credited the Department of Financial Services with "identifying this case through rigorous audits."

The investigation was led by FDLE and the Department of Financial Services' Criminal Investigations Division, according to the release. The case will be prosecuted in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit by the Office of Statewide Prosecution's Public Integrity Unit Special Counsel, Richard Mantei, the office said.

Attorney: "We firmly maintain that she did not"

Espinosa's attorney, Migdalia Perez, said in a statement that her client is innocent and that the case does not rise to the level of criminal conduct, WKMG News 6 reported.

"This case involves a publicly approved grant program administered by City staff, not a secret scheme to steal taxpayer money," Perez said, according to WKMG. "The prosecution must establish that the mayor acted with criminal intent. We firmly maintain that she did not."

"We intend to challenge these allegations vigorously in court. Mayor Espinosa deserves the presumption of innocence, not a presumption of guilt because she has been arrested," Perez said, according to WKMG.

Earlier ethics findings

The charges follow months of turmoil for Espinosa. In September, the Florida Commission on Ethics censured her and recommended a $2,000 fine after an investigation into whether she funneled $50,000 in city COVID-19 relief funds to businesses tied to her family, WKMG reported. She earlier survived an impeachment attempt after Kissimmee city commissioners deadlocked 2-2 on whether to move forward with a trial, according to WKMG.