A federal indictment unsealed in June 2025 charged two Florida men with stealing more than $100 million from a nonprofit that managed funds for people with disabilities. The case has drawn national attention, and it raises important questions for Colorado families who rely on special needs trusts to protect a loved one’s financial future.
What Happened at the Center for Special Needs Trust Administration
The Center for Special Needs Trust Administration (CSNT) grew to be one of the largest administrators of special needs trusts in the country, managing more than 2,100 trusts containing approximately $200 million in assets as of February 2024. The organization served beneficiaries in nearly every state.
According to the indictment, from 2009 through 2025, co-founder Leo Govoni, accountant John Witeck, and their co-conspirators misappropriated client funds, treating them as a personal slush fund to enrich themselves and others, while concealing their activities through complex financial transactions. Govoni allegedly used stolen money to purchase real estate, travel by private jet, fund a brewery, and pay personal debts.
To conceal the fraud, Witeck is accused of sending false accounting statements to victims each year. When trust beneficiaries needed money to cover expenses, the defendants allegedly dug into the funds of newer clients, covering up one fraud with another.
The Colorado connection is direct. As 9News reported, a Colorado father named Milt McMinn had been court-ordered to place settlement funds at CSNT on behalf of his son Chase, who was left with quadriplegia after a 2017 shooting in Aurora. The McMinn family was told to use the Center by the defendants in 2019, at which point, unknown to them, the Center had already loaned its founder more than $100 million with no meaningful attempt at repayment.
A jury trial is scheduled for the February 2027 trial term. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty. An indictment is a formal charge, not a finding of guilt.
Why This Case Matters for Colorado Families
Special needs trusts exist for a specific purpose: to hold assets for a person with a disability without disqualifying them from government benefits like Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income. They are a carefully structured legal tool. And like any tool, their value depends entirely on how they are managed.
This case is a reminder that trust administration is not a passive process. Oversight matters. Documentation matters. Knowing who controls the funds and how decisions are made matters.
A Florida-based attorney involved in the CSNT matter put it plainly: “The only reason this can happen is that we have no oversight whatsoever.” That observation applies far beyond one organization.
Choosing the Right Structure for a Special Needs Trust
Not all special needs trusts are alike. Colorado families generally have two main options:
- First-party special needs trusts: Funded with the beneficiary’s own assets, such as a personal injury settlement or inheritance. These are subject to Medicaid payback provisions at death.
- Third-party special needs trusts: Funded by parents, grandparents, or other family members. These do not carry Medicaid payback requirements and offer greater flexibility in how remaining assets are distributed after the beneficiary’s death.
Pooled trusts, like the one managed by CSNT, are a third option. A nonprofit trustee manages individual accounts that are pooled together for investment purposes. They can be appropriate in some situations, but the CSNT case makes clear that selecting a pooled trust administrator requires serious due diligence.
For most Colorado families, a properly drafted third-party special needs trust with a trusted individual or institution as trustee provides more direct oversight and control.
Working With a Special Needs Trust Lawyer
A Severance, CO special needs trust lawyer can help you structure a trust that protects your loved one’s eligibility for public benefits while also building in the oversight safeguards this kind of arrangement requires.
That means drafting the trust correctly from the start, selecting an appropriate trustee, and making sure the document addresses what happens when circumstances change.
W.B. Moore Law works with Colorado families to create special needs trusts that are both legally sound and practically protective. If you have an existing trust you want reviewed, or you’re setting one up for the first time, the right time to get qualified guidance is before a problem develops, not after one already has.