Leo Govoni special needs trust fraud trial pushed to May 2027 as families wait for missing $100 million

The federal fraud trial of Leo Govoni, the Pinellas County businessman accused of siphoning more than $100 million from a nonprofit that managed money for people with disabilities, has been pushed back again, this time to May 2027, FOX 13 reported Monday. The case had previously been set for trial in February.

Govoni, who co-founded the Center for Special Needs Trust Administration, and his longtime accountant, John Witeck, have both pleaded not guilty. Govoni remains jailed awaiting trial. The delay means families who say their settlements vanished from the nonprofit's accounts will wait more than six months for a jury to hear the case, and they still have not received any money back.

The charges

A federal grand jury in Tampa indicted Govoni and Witeck in June 2025. The men face 15 charges in total, WFLA reported. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office announcement, both are charged with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Govoni is also charged with bank fraud, an illegal monetary transaction and making a false declaration in bankruptcy. The wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering conspiracy counts each carry a maximum of 20 years in prison, and the bank fraud count carries up to 30 years. A superseding indictment returned May 28, 2026, did not substantively change the charges but modified the forfeiture allegations, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida.

Prosecutors allege the two men used the nonprofit as a slush fund. According to the Associated Press, they are accused of spending client money on private jet travel, living expenses for friends and family and luxury boxes at Tampa Bay Buccaneers games and the Kentucky Derby, while sending clients and families fraudulent account statements showing false balances. "The fraud alleged in this nationwide scheme is unfathomable," U.S. Attorney Gregory Kehoe said when the charges were announced.

The indictment describes Boston Finance Group, a lending firm Govoni ran, as having functioned as a slush fund and passthrough entity, CBS News reported. The nonprofit agreed to lend up to $100 million to the firm between 2009 and 2012, and by late 2024 the firm had borrowed nearly $100 million and repaid about $19 million, according to CBS.

Witeck, 60 at the time of the indictment, lives in Tampa and was released before trial under pretrial supervision; WFLA reported his bond at $500,000. A federal judge denied Govoni's bid for release in June 2025, and the Tampa Bay Times reported in April that Govoni had been assaulted for the second time since he was jailed.

Why the trial keeps moving

The case is enormous. FOX 13 reported that it involves more than 50 million pages of documents. At a status hearing on Oct. 6, U.S. Magistrate Judge Natalie Hirt Adams set a schedule of deadlines for both sides, including a late January deadline for all material to be ready for review, WFLA reported. Witeck's attorney had challenged the postponement, according to WFLA.

The trial has slipped repeatedly, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office case page and news reports.

U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington is presiding over the trial calendar, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office case page.

The victims

The nonprofit, founded about 25 years ago, managed more than 2,000 accounts holding about $200 million for clients in Florida and across the country, according to the AP. Many of those clients are children or adults with severe disabilities whose injury settlements were placed in trusts meant to pay for their care for life. FOX 13 reported that the alleged theft touched more than 1,500 accounts.

The losses are personal. CBS News described the case of Chase McMinn, who was left quadriplegic and nonverbal after being shot at work in 2017; his father says $200,000 to $360,000 disappeared from the trust holding the family's settlements. Sean Burke told WFLA that Govoni allegedly took about $500,000 from him. "Where did it go?" Burke said.

Rebekah Bowman, the mother of an alleged victim, told FOX 13 that recovered money is coming back slowly. "I feel like they keep going into these things and as they claw it back, it's just very little bits at a time," she said.

The bankruptcy and the hunt for assets

The nonprofit's February 2024 bankruptcy filing first disclosed that more than $100 million in beneficiary funds was missing. A federally appointed trustee then sued Boston Finance Group to recover the money, and a federal bankruptcy judge found that about $120 million, including interest, is owed, according to FOX 13 and CBS News.

The government has seized more than 100 businesses and properties tied to Govoni, FOX 13 reported. Big Storm Brewing in Clearwater sold at auction this year for $5.5 million, far less than many families had hoped. Victims have agreed on a distribution plan that pays those who lost the most first, but no payouts have been made, and how much money will ultimately be available remains unclear.

A political footnote

The case has also surfaced in the governor's race. CBS News reported last week that Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Jolly worked at Boston Finance Group from 2012 to 2014 and reported $468,750 in income from the firm. Court records do not mention Jolly or suggest he knew of the transfers, and he has not been accused of wrongdoing. His campaign told CBS that he never held an officer or fiduciary role and that he returned Govoni's political contributions to victims.

What's next

Govoni and Witeck are presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Lawyers on both sides now face a late January deadline to have discovery material ready, with jury selection tentatively targeted for the May 2027 trial calendar in Tampa. Meanwhile, families who relied on the trusts for medical care and daily living expenses continue to wait on the bankruptcy distribution, the only path so far to recovering any of the missing money.