Dem Florida Mayor Arrested, Accused of Theft and 'Organized Scheme to Defraud'
Kissimmee Mayor Jackie Espinosa was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with grand theft and an organized scheme to defraud, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced.
Uthmeier announced the arrest in a social media post and said a news conference would be held at 2 p.m. at the attorney general’s Orlando office with Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Keefe.
This morning, we arrested Kissimmee mayor Jackie Espinosa and are charging her with Grand Theft and Organized Scheme to Defraud.
We will be holding a press conference at 2pm at our Orlando office with CFO Ingoglia and FDLE Commissioner Keefe to provide more information.
— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) October 21, 2026
Osceola County Jail records showed Espinosa booked and held without bond on both charges, WESH-TV reported. The mayor’s office is nonpartisan, but Espinosa is a Democrat, according to local coverage of the District 4 commission primary.
The charges follow earlier findings that three businesses owned by Espinosa or her family collected $50,000 through the city’s Business Boost 2.0 grant program, which was funded by federal pandemic money.
WESH reported that a special prosecutor found probable cause earlier this year to initiate impeachment proceedings, alleging she withheld public funds and failed to disclose her personal interests while taking part in official actions that funded and expanded the program.
The city commission deadlocked 2-2 on advancing the impeachment, so the proceeding ended. The Florida Commission on Ethics later found probable cause on related allegations and recommended a $2,000 fine and public censure.
BREAKING: Kissimmee Mayor Jackie Espinosa, who previously ran as a Democrat for county commissioner, was just ARRESTED on charges of grand theft and an organized scheme to defraud.
She allegedly distributed $50,000 in grants to businesses owned by her family. https://t.co/PjFJwaMTPB
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 21, 2026
🚨 BREAKING: Democrat-aligned Kissimmee FL Mayor Jackie Espinosa has just been ARRESTED on Grand THEFT and Organized Scheme to DEFRAUD, AG James Uthmeier announces
WOW. FLORIDA FAFO ☀️
She was booked into the Osceola County Jail this morning. She was already under fire for allegedly steering $50,000 in COVID relief grants to businesses run by her own family, through a program she helped create
“This morning, we arrested Kissimmee mayor Jackie Espinosa and are charging her with Grand Theft and Organized Scheme to Defraud.”
A special prosecutor found “clear probable cause” to pursue her impeachment on three ethics allegations
Florida doesn’t play! FRAUDSTERS ARE BEING PROSECUTED FULLY.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 21, 2026
Ingoglia said in a statement that his auditing team and Criminal Investigations Division identified the alleged misuse of taxpayer dollars and that Espinosa would have to answer for taking from the taxpayers.
Espinosa’s attorney, Migdalia Perez, said the mayor maintains her innocence.
“This case involves a publicly approved grant program administered by City staff, not a secret scheme to steal taxpayer money,” the statement read. “There is a fundamental difference between an alleged ethics violation and a criminal offense.” The lawyer said the state must prove criminal intent and that the defense intends to challenge the allegations in court.
This morning my team, along with @fdlepio, arrested the Mayor of Kissimmee for abusing her office for personal gain.
I am proud of the outstanding work that my auditing team and Criminal Investigations Division did to uncover the alleged misuse of taxpayer dollars and to ensure that Jackie Espinosa’s corruption did not go without recourse.
See you at 2pm with more info with @AGJamesUthmeier
— Blaise Ingoglia (@GovGoneWild) October 21, 2026
Espinosa was elected in 2024.
Uthmeier has said his office has multiple active public-corruption investigations.
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