Gov. Ron DeSantis suspends Kissimmee Mayor Jackie Espinosa following her arrest on fraud charges

Gov. Ron DeSantis has suspended Kissimmee Mayor Jackie Espinosa, 10 days after her arrest on charges of organized scheme to defraud and grand theft. The City of Kissimmee shared the executive order with News 6 this morning, also telling News 6 Vice Mayor Angela Eady has assumed the office of Mayor.Espinosa is accused of leveraging her position as mayor to score COVID-19 relief grants for her and her family’s businesses, an accusation she firmly denies.“I’ve stated from the very beginning, there’s no criminality behind this. It is completely administrative,” Espinosa told News 6 last month.The arrest follows months of ethics investigations by the city and by the Florida Commission on Ethics.[WATCH: Kissimmee mayor released on bond after theft, fraud arrest]Businesses belonging to Espinosa or her family received a combined $50,000 in grants through the city’s BOOST 2.0 grant program, which used federal COVID-19 relief money to assist Kissimmee businesses. Espinosa says the money had been