KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A small-business relief program intended to help companies recover from the pandemic instead delivered $50,000 to businesses owned or controlled by Kissimmee’s mayor and her immediate family, Florida authorities alleged Wednesday.
Mayor Jackie Espinosa, 58, was arrested on charges of grand theft and an organized scheme to defraud following a state investigation into the city’s Business Boost 2.0 grant program.
Espinosa denies wrongdoing. Her attorney says prosecutors are attempting to turn a potential ethics dispute into a criminal case.
According to an arrest warrant, an audit by the state chief financial officer’s office identified grants totaling $50,000 awarded to three businesses connected to Espinosa or her immediate family: a dance production studio, a diner and a real estate company.
Authorities allege Espinosa helped shape the program to make it easier for herself and relatives to obtain funding. She and family members applied on the day applications opened in September 2025, according to the attorney general’s office.
Attorney General James Uthmeier accused Espinosa of working to simplify the application process and reduce oversight while intending to benefit from the resulting grants.
“This is the local government equivalent of insider congressional stock trading,” Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia said during a news conference.
The defense disputes that characterization.
“This case involves a publicly approved grant program administered by City staff, not a secret scheme to steal taxpayer money,” attorney Migdalia Perez said in a statement to ABC News.
Perez said the mayor maintains her innocence and plans to challenge the allegations vigorously. The central question, she argued, is whether prosecutors can prove criminal intent.
“There is a fundamental difference between an alleged ethics violation and a criminal offense,” Perez said.
Espinosa was booked into the Osceola County Jail under her full name, Eva Jacqulyn Espinosa, according to online jail records. Grand theft is charged as a second-degree felony, while the organized fraud charge is a first-degree felony. Officials said she faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted as charged.
Espinosa became mayor in November 2024, and her term runs through 2028. Her arrest does not automatically remove her from office.
City officials said she remains mayor unless a qualifying action, such as suspension, removal or resignation, changes her status. Vice Mayor Angela Eady will perform mayoral duties at City Commission meetings and ceremonial events during Espinosa’s absence.
The city has also launched its own examination of the grant program.
City Manager Mike Steigerwald authorized an internal investigation into how Business Boost 2.0 was designed, administered and supervised. The review will assess whether grant awards followed city policies and whether those safeguards were sufficient.
That leaves two related inquiries underway: whether the mayor committed a crime, as state authorities allege, and whether the city’s grant procedures adequately protected the public money entrusted to them.
