A grand jury indicted a Central Florida Republican State Representative after a concerned citizen brought potential criminal wrongdoing to the State Attorney.
On August 28th, the Orange County grand jury indicted District 45 Florida Representative Carolina Amesty for Forgery, Uttering a Forgery, False Acknowledgement or Certification by Notary Public and Notarizing Your Own Signature. She believes she will be publicly vindicated and looks forward to her day in court.
The criminal charges against Rep. Amesty, a Republican, are reportedly connected to evidence showing she knowingly notarized a document with a forged signature in 2021 while serving as an administrator at Central Christian Academy, a nonprofit school run by her family. All four charges for the misuse of her notary commission are classified as third-degree felonies under Florida Statute section 117.05.
But Rep. Amesty thinks bad politics and misleading information played a role in the indictment. She believes she will be publicly vindicated and looks forward to her day in court.
“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,” a statement from the Carolina Amesty campaign said.
On August 29th, Rep. Amesty turned herself in to the Orange County Jail.
“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,” State Attorney Andrew Bain said in a statement. “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 State Attorney’s office said she will receive an appropriate bond amount in accordance with the law and the Central Florida case will proceed through the judicial process.
