KISSIMMEE, FL — Kissimmee Mayor Jackie Espinosa was arrested Wednesday on charges of grand theft and organized scheme to defraud over allegations that she and members of her family improperly obtained $50,000 in city grant money, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier's office said in a news release.
The case centers on Kissimmee's Business Boost 2.0 program, which used federal pandemic relief funds to provide financial assistance to eligible small businesses.
State investigators allege Espinosa, 58, used her position to help make it easier for herself and family members to receive grants for three businesses they owned or controlled, the news release said.
Espinosa and immediate family members submitted applications seeking a combined $50,000 on the day the program opened in September 2025, according to the attorney general's office.
The applications were approved, and the money was deposited into accounts linked to the family on Nov. 7, 2025, investigators said.
The mayor advocated for the program and voted on its creation and expansion before applying for the funds, state officials said.
Investigators also allege she worked to reduce oversight of the program in ways that allowed her and her relatives to receive money to which they were not entitled.
On Dec. 5, 2025, the city attorney notified Espinosa that accepting the funds created a prohibited conflict of interest and advised her to return the money, according to the news release. Investigators allege she declined to return the funds and took no corrective action.
"Public officials do not get to write the rules and then write themselves a check," Uthmeier said in a statement about her arrest. .
Espinosa, who has served as mayor since November 2024, was booked into the Osceola County Jail on Wednesday morning. Her charges include grand theft involving property valued between $20,000 and $100,000 and organized scheme to defraud involving $50,000 or more.
Her attorney, Migdalia Perez, told ABC News that Espinosa maintains her innocence and plans to challenge the allegations in court.
"This case involves a publicly approved grant program administered by city staff, not a secret scheme to steal taxpayer money," Perez said.
The attorney added, "The prosecution must establish that the mayor acted with criminal intent. We firmly maintain that she did not. There is a fundamental difference between an alleged ethics violation and a criminal offense. The State cannot transform one into the other without proving every element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt."
The case follows an earlier state ethics investigation into Espinosa.
In July, a special prosecutor found probable cause to pursue impeachment proceedings against her on three of seven alleged ethics violations involving the grant funds. City commissioners voted 2-2 in August on whether to advance the proceedings, falling short of the votes needed to move forward, WESH reported.
The Florida Department of Financial Services' Criminal Investigations Division and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigated the criminal case. Richard Mantei, special counsel with the Office of Statewide Prosecution's Public Integrity Unit, is prosecuting the case in the 13th Judicial Circuit, according to the attorney general's office.
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