As Jolly runs for Florida gov., he confronts prior ties to alleged fraudster

Key points

• David Jolly, a Democratic candidate for Florida governor, previously worked at Boston Finance Group, a for-profit firm owned by Leo Govoni, who was indicted for allegedly siphoning over $100 million from a nonprofit.
• Court records show that during Jolly's tenure at the firm, more than $10 million moved from the nonprofit to the firm, but there is no evidence Jolly knew about or was involved in the alleged scheme.
• Jolly has returned Govoni's political contributions to victims and called on other beneficiaries to do the same.

David Jolly, a former Republican congressman now running as a Democrat for Florida governor, is facing scrutiny over his past employment with a firm owned by Leo Govoni, a businessman indicted for allegedly stealing over $100 million from a nonprofit that managed trusts for people with disabilities.

Jolly worked at Govoni's Boston Finance Group from 2012 until early 2014, earning $468,750, according to House financial disclosures. He has not been accused of any wrongdoing, and court records do not suggest he knew about the transfers.

What the indictment alleges

Federal prosecutors say Govoni, who co-founded the Center for Special Needs Trust Administration in 2000, orchestrated a scheme in which the nonprofit lent up to $100 million to Boston Finance Group. The indictment describes the firm as a 'slush fund and passthrough entity' and alleges that most of the borrowed money was not invested for clients but was diverted to enrich Govoni and others.

A forensic accountant found that Boston Finance Group borrowed nearly $100 million from the nonprofit and repaid only about $19 million. A judge later held the firm liable for the full amount owed, approximately $120 million including interest. Govoni has pleaded not guilty and is detained ahead of a trial set for next year.

What [Govoni] did was just so evil

— Milt McMinn, father of alleged victim Chase McMinn

Jolly's response and ties

Jolly has called Govoni's alleged actions 'raw cruelty' and said he was an employee at a separate company from which the theft later occurred. His campaign senior advisor Mark Riddle said Jolly was one of over 100 W-2 employees among Govoni's companies and never had fiduciary responsibility or visibility into Govoni's finances.

Govoni donated to Jolly's political campaigns and served as finance co-chair of his 2016 Senate run. Jolly's wife worked for another Govoni-run firm while he was in Congress, and Govoni's son worked in Jolly's congressional office in 2014. Jolly said he has returned Govoni's contributions to victims and urged other recipients to do the same.