A Republican Florida lawmaker was indicted on felony forgery charges this week related to her former role as a school administrator.
On Wednesday, an Orange County grand jury indicted Florida State Representative Carolina Amesty, 29, from the 45th District for Forgery, Uttering a Forgery, False Acknowledgement or Certification by Notary Public and Notarizing Your Own Signature.
The charges stem from an incident in 2021, in which Amesty allegedly forged a man’s signature on a document that she notarized while working as an administrator for a nonprofit school run by her family, Central Christian Academy.
On Thursday, Amesty turned herself in to the Orange County Jail where she was booked on the charges against her. She was released later that day, local news outlet WLRN-TV reported, citing the Orange County Inmate Database.
Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP
State Attorney Andrew A. Bain said in a statement on Thursday that “a concerned citizen brought potential criminal wrongdoing to our attention” and that his office requested an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement into the matter. Evidence was then 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,” Bain said.
Amesty’s reelection campaign said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter): “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 campaign was presumably referring to investigative reporting by the Orlando Sentinel into Amesty’s background.
“Rep. Amesty calls for a speedy trial, looks forward to her day in court, and is confident of her public vindication,” the online statement continued.
All of Amesty’s charges are considered third-degree felonies that carry a sentence of up to five years in prison and $5,000 in fines each.
Amesty was first elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2022 after a competitive race. Her district covers parts of Orange and Osceola counties.
The Florida Democratic Party has called for Amesty’s resignation.
“Carolina Amesty can’t effectively represent the people of House District 45 while defending herself from felony charges,” party Chair Nikki Fried said in a statement on Thursday. “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.”
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.