"The unusual injection of cash was part of an undisclosed settlement agreement involving Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration," reported Lawrence Mower and Alexandra Glorioso. "Under Florida law, money from certain settlement agreements must be deposited into a state trust fund or the general revenue fund, where lawmakers can decide how to spend it. It's not clear whether the law applies because the state is refusing to release the settlement's details, including the circumstances or parties involved."

Asked for comment, a spokesperson for the DeSantis administration said "this money was not paid to the state," and thus it is not covered under the law about settlements.

Nonetheless, Hope Florida is under increasing scrutiny for its legal practices, the report continued: "Last week, staffers working for the Republican-controlled House of Representatives asserted that Hope Florida's fundraising arm was not complying with state laws governing its oversight, ethics or fundraising."