Friday, August 30, 2024

Carolina Amesty charged with forgery, false certification — read the indictment

By Staff Reports on August 30, 2024

Republican Rep. Carolina Amesty turned herself in to authorities Thursday on felony forgery charges. Now, the indictment is out.

An Orange County grand jury determined that "on or about" Sept. 15, 2021, Amesty falsely notarized a form listing Robert Shaffer as an employee of Central Christian University, a private Orlando school founded by her father, Juan Amesty.

Shaffer has said he did not work there. Amesty's campaign said Shaffer taught at a K-12 school under the university's business umbrella, something other employees confirmed in affidavits. Those employees also said Shaffer had memory issues.

Amesty is charged with forgery, uttering forgery, false acknowledgement or certification by a notary public, and notarizing (one's) own signature. Each is a third-degree felony charge punishable by up to five years in prison and $5,000 fines.

Amesty's arrest this week followed more than three months of scrutiny over the Windermere Republican's notary work, sparked by Orlando Sentinel reporting and a subsequent citizen complaint calling for an investigation.

The Sentinel report also noted that Gov. Ron DeSantis' Office had opened a probe into the matter. Amesty later resigned her notary public commission, but maintains she is innocent of wrongdoing and that the charges from State Attorney Andrew Bain's Office are intended to damage her re-election effort.

"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," she said on social media Thursday.

Amesty added that she is "confident of her public vindication" and called for a speedy trial.

Political critics called for Amesty to resign or for GOP leaders in the Legislature to expel her.

"Carolina Amesty can't effectively represent the people of House District 45 while defending herself from felony charges," Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said in a statement.

"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."

*Windermere Republican Rep. Carolina Amesty, 29, is seeking her second two-year term serving House District 45. Image via Florida House.*

For now, House Speaker-designate Daniel Perez is standing by Amesty, noting that the charges against her "are wholly unrelated" to her duties as a lawmaker.

"Rep. Amesty has disputed the allegations," he told Florida Politics on Thursday. "I would expect her to pursue her defense as aggressively and diligently as she has advocated on behalf of her constituents."

Legal troubles that several Republican officials have faced in the past year have prompted talk among leading members of the Florida GOP about updating the party's bylaws.

Among other things being contemplated, members of the party have suggested that if the Governor removes a criminally charged member from public office, that member can't then run for a party leadership post.

"You're innocent until proven guilty, but if there's already a precedent that the Governor has suspended you as an elected official, then shouldn't the same rules apply when it comes to the party?" Hialeah Rep. Alex Rizo, Chair of the Miami-Dade GOP, told Florida Politics.

"At the very least, we need to debate that."

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Jacob Ogles and Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics contributed to this report.