For the past nine months, Channel 8 News Tampa has investigated a St. Petersburg non-profit embroiled in a scandal involving millions of dollars meant for people with disabilities. A federal judge recently ordered the permanent shutdown of the Center for Special Needs Trust Administration, which reportedly lost substantial funds that were intended to support disabled individuals.

As this complex case unfolds in federal bankruptcy court, affected families are questioning the timeline of events that led to their money’s disappearance. Patti Allison, whose 12-year-old daughter Danika relies on a special needs trust, is among them.

“When Danika was just six weeks old, she needed emergency spinal decompression surgery,” Allison explained. But the procedure went too far, causing her daughter’s spine to collapse. After a decade-long legal battle, the Allisons received over half a million dollars to fund Danika’s future care. While most of the money was placed in an annuity, around $80,000 was deposited with the Center for Special Needs Trust Administration in October 2023.

Just four months later, the center filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. “I was told I couldn’t access any funds because the Center was undergoing an audit,” Allison recalled. She is especially concerned given that records indicate the Center’s founder, Leo Govoni, had previously loaned $100 million from the trust’s funds to his own company, Boston Finance Group, from 2009 to 2020—years before Danika’s trust was established. “Why was her newly deposited money even affected? It just doesn’t add up,” she said.

Last month, a federal judge ordered the Tampa Bay Center to close, with any remaining funds transferred to a new administrator. Now, a Chapter 11 Trustee is focused on litigation to recover the $100 million as the FBI investigates potential misconduct.

For Allison and other affected families, the hope is that justice will be served. “After fighting for nearly 11 years, it’s a punch to the gut not to have access to those funds,” she said.

Channel 8’s Investigator Brittany Muller is set to interview CPT Institute’s Executive Director, Will Lindahl, to understand how the new administrator plans to safeguard funds for vulnerable families going forward.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X

(Image credit: Google Maps/Canva)