FDLE confirms investigation involving Orlando-area Rep. Amesty

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has an active investigation involving state Rep. Carolina Amesty and her family’s nonprofit school, Central Christian University, the agency confirmed Monday.

Agency spokesman Jensen Rayburn declined to provide further detail about the probe, which follows an Orlando Sentinel probe into Amesty’s background, credentials and conduct in her former role as an administrator at her family’s small school on North Hiawassee Road in Orange County. Amesty, a Republican, was elected to the Florida House in 2022 to represent a district that takes in much of southwest Orange, including Walt Disney World, and part of northwest Osceola County.

The most recent investigative story from the Sentinel detailed how Amesty notarized a form in September 2021 claiming Robert Shaffer, a veteran educator with a Ph.D. from the University of Florida, was an employee at the university. But Shaffer, who previously served as the principal of the adjacent K-12 school run by Amesty’s family, told the Sentinel he never worked at the university nor signed the form Amesty claimed he did.

Three handwriting experts consulted by the Sentinel also said the signature likely wasn’t his, with one saying there was “no chance” Shaffer had signed the document. Two of the experts said the Shaffer signature might have been written by Amesty, who used her notary stamp to swear under Florida law the signature was authentic. The third agreed Amesty’s penmanship resembled the handwriting on the signature line of Shaffer’s personnel form but didn’t weigh in on whether she wrote his name.

As a notary public, Amesty is a state-appointed official who can certify the authenticity of signatures on important documents. 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.

The FDLE is Florida’s primary state-level criminal justice agency.

Amesty, 29, has repeatedly declined to be interviewed by Sentinel reporters. Brett Doster, a spokesman for Amesty, wrote in an email on Monday that the allegation she notarized a document that a former employee of her family’s K-12 school didn’t sign was “patently absurd.”

Through her attorney, Amesty sent an affidavit to the Sentinel earlier this year swearing that she saw Shaffer, 87, sign the form the day she notarized it.

With the FDLE revelation, Amesty now faces two state investigations. Last month, the Sentinel reported that state authorities are looking into whether Amesty violated Florida’s notary laws after a reader filed a complaint based on the paper’s reporting .

The article cited a May 8 letter from the notary division of the governor’s office to a retired law enforcement officer who lives in Seminole County indicating that it had opened an investigation into Amesty’s conduct as a notary.

Amesty said in an email last month she was confident the notary division’s investigation “will reveal no wrongdoing,” adding that it “defies logic” that Shaffer, as he contends, filled out most of the form but did not sign it. Instead, she said was is likely that Shaffer has forgotten signing the form nearly three years ago.

As part of the investigation opened by the governor’s office, Amesty will be required to submit sworn written responses to each of the matters under investigation, according to a letter notary coordinator Diedre Leaks sent to the complainant last week.

“Please be advised that the purpose of this investigation is to aid the Governor in the evaluation of the notary’s fitness to serve in public office,” Leaks wrote.

The governor’s office did not respond to questions about the investigation last month.

In addition to Shaffer, Central Christian listed as faculty on documents submitted to the Florida Department of Education the names of four men who also told the Sentinel they’d never worked for the university.

Using the credentials of Shaffer and the four other men, who all hold graduate degrees, likely helped the school get a state license, as the rules require most instructors to have advanced degrees. Florida first granted Central Christian a license in 2022 and renewed it last year. The school needed a license to switch from offering religious classes, which are exempt from state licensing, to secular ones in fields such as hospitality management and psychology.

Amesty is running for re-election this year in state House District 45. The Windermere-area incumbent faces one opponent: Democrat Leonard Spencer, a first-time candidate for public office and former Disney executive who now works for Amazon .

anmartin@orlandosentinel.com