Kissimmee, Florida, Mayor Jackie Espinosa, who is of Puerto Rican descent, must pay a $2,000 fine for violating the Florida Code of Ethics in the alleged misuse of public funds from the city’s Business Boost 2.0 program, which was meant to help small businesses hurt by COVID-19. WESH 2 News reported that the Florida Commission on Ethics unanimously approved the fine, which also includes a public censure and a reprimand.
The determination came in August, after the commission found probable cause of an ethics violation. WESH 2 News reported that Kissimmee resident Lillian Evans questioned in December 2025 why businesses owned by Espinosa or her family members received $50,000 in aid, and later filed a formal complaint with the state. As part of a settlement, Espinosa admitted violating the Code of Ethics by keeping a contractual relationship with an entity that did business with the government agency she belonged to.
A special prosecutor recommended starting a process to remove her as mayor, but the vote in the city commission ended in a stalemate. Authorities allege she pushed for and voted to create and expand Business Boost 2.0 and used her position to facilitate the awards. They also say that after being warned that receiving the money was a prohibited conflict of interest, she refused to return it.
Espinosa, 58, was arrested on Wednesday on charges of grand theft and scheme to defraud, with bail set at $70,000. She was elected mayor in November 2024. Kissimmee has one of Florida’s highest concentrations of Puerto Ricans.