Kissimmee Mayor Jackie Espinosa Arrested on Grand Theft and Fraud Charges
Kissimmee Mayor Jackie Espinosa was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with grand theft and organized scheme to defraud, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced. She was taken into custody shortly after 8 a.m. as she left her home and booked into the Osceola County Jail under her full name, Eva Jacqulyn Espinosa.
The charges stem from an investigation into the city’s Business Boost 2.0 grant program, which distributed federal COVID-19 relief funds to local small businesses. Authorities allege Espinosa used her position as mayor to improperly influence the awarding of grants totaling tens of thousands of dollars to businesses she owned or that were tied to her family. Officials say roughly $50,000 went to her own businesses, with additional funds awarded to tenants in family-owned or managed properties.
The criminal case follows months of scrutiny. A special prosecutor previously found probable cause that Espinosa violated city ethics rules by participating in decisions that directed public money to her family’s businesses without proper disclosure. A city commission effort to pursue impeachment ended in a 2-2 deadlock. The Florida Commission on Ethics also found probable cause on related allegations. State investigators from the Department of Financial Services and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement later built the criminal case.
Attorney General Uthmeier said public officials “do not get to write the rules and then write themselves a check.” He was joined in the announcement by Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, whose office participated in the audit and investigation. A press conference with Uthmeier, Ingoglia, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials was scheduled for later Wednesday afternoon in Orlando to provide further details.
Espinosa, a Democrat elected mayor in 2024, has maintained her innocence through her legal team. Her attorney stated that the grants came from a publicly approved program administered by city staff and that prosecutors will need to prove criminal intent. The mayor’s office is officially nonpartisan.
The grand theft charge covers an amount between $20,000 and $100,000 and is a second-degree felony. The organized scheme to defraud charge involves $50,000 or more and is a first-degree felony. Both carry the potential for significant prison time if she is convicted.
The arrest marks the latest development in a turbulent first term for the Puerto Rican-born mayor, whose tenure has been marked by the ethics investigations and the failed impeachment effort. City and state officials have not yet indicated whether she will remain in office while the case proceeds.
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