Photo of Carolina Amesty taken on Aug. 29, 2024. (Photo taken by Orange County Sheriff's Office).
Florida state GOP Rep. Carolina Amesty was booked into the Orange County jail on Thursday on felony forgery charges.
Amesty has represented parts of Orange and Osceola counties in the Florida House of Representatives since November 2022. According to the Orange County government website , the 29-year-old Republican faces four charges: forgery, uttering forgery, notarizing her own signature, and false acknowledgement by notary public.
In a statement , Orange and Osceola State Attorney Andrew Bain said, “A concerned citizen brought potential criminal wrongdoing to our attention, and in line with our obligation to investigate fairly and without bias, we requested a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation and thoroughly reviewed the facts and evidence of the case. That information was presented to the grand jury who found sufficient evidence to return an indictment. I am committed to upholding fairness and justice in every case by applying the law equally to everyone and my record reflects this dedication.”
The Orlando Sentinel reported in March that Amesty had notarized a document that an educator says he never signed that likely helped her family’s small, unaccredited university get a state license.
Amesty denounced the story, telling Florida’s Voice it was a “hit piece” that was “outrageous and false.” She later told the Florida Daily that she would sue the paper, but ultimately opted not to, saying she would focus on her “legislative work and the upcoming campaign.”
The Sentinel reported on July 1 that Amesty had resigned her notary commission, blocking a probe by the governor’s office into whether she had violated the state’s notary laws.
Under Florida law, using a notary commission to “falsely or fraudulently” certify a signature is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Amesty is running for re-election this year for her District 45 House seat against Democrat Leonard Spencer, a longtime Disney executive. She has raised more than $92,000 in her main campaign account and has a little more than $32,000 remaining in her Friends of Caroline Amesty political committee. Spencer has raised a little more than $48,000.
In a statement released Thursday afternoon, the Amesty campaign said that the representative was “confident” that she would be vindicated.
“This prosecution, initiated just a few weeks prior to absentee ballots being dropped, is based on misleading reports from a partisan newspaper about a notarization of an employee verification background report, the truth of the contents which have not been questioned in any manner. Rep. Amesty calls for a speedy trial, looks forward to her day in court, and is confident of her public vindication.”
Leaning Republican
House District 45 leans Republican, according to the most recent numbers from the Florrida Division of Elections website, with 41,771 Republicans and 36,873 Democrats and 36,560 nonparty-affiliated voters.
“Another corrupt Florida Republican — who could have seen that coming?” said FDP Chair Nikki Fried in a statement.
“The charges Carolina Amesty is facing are serious, and they call every decision she’s ever made on behalf of her constituents into question. If she was willing to forge official documents for personal gain, there’s no telling what else she’s gotten away with during her time in office,” Fried continued.
“Carolina Amesty can’t effectively represent the people of House District 45 while defending herself from felony charges. She should resign from office immediately, and if she refuses to take responsibility for her actions, we demand that the Florida House of Representatives expel her from membership.
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