ORLANDO, Fla. – Less than four months after a grand jury indicted Carolina Amesty on felony charges for allegedly forging a signature on a document she notarized, prosecutors have dropped all charges against the former Republican state representative.
State Attorney Andrew Bain office quietly announced the decision in a document filed with the clerk of courts on Sunday at 12:30 in the morning.
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In a statement released to News 6 on Monday, the state attorney’s office said Amesty took part in a pre-trial diversion program in return for the charges being dropped:
“The defendant’s charges were non-violent, diversion-eligible offenses and the defendant was offered diversion given her lack of criminal history. The diversion terms required the defendant to complete a financial crimes course, a financial literacy course and 30 hours of community service. Once the diversion terms were completed, the State entered a nolle prosequi in the case.”
Amesty provided prosecutors with proof of taking the required courses on Nov. 25 and completion of the mandated community service hours on Dec. 2, a state attorney spokesperson said.
Amesty was serving her first term in the Florida House representing parts of West Orange and Osceola counties when she was arrested in August. She narrowly lost a re-election bid in November to Democratic businessman Leonard Spencer.
Amesty told News 6 over the phone that she was very happy right now.
She released a fuller statement Monday afternoon, claiming an effort to destroy her political career, and accused the Orlando Sentinel of weaponizing its reporters to pressure government agencies to investigate her.
“The politics of personal destruction must end in our country. I thank God for President Trump’s victory, which brings hope for a better America where people are not persecuted for their beliefs or political affiliations,” Amesty wrote in her statement, which she posted on social media.
Following a series of reports published by the Orlando Sentinel about a private school run by Amesty’s family, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement began investigating allegations that Amesty had falsely notarized a document containing a forged signature.
That document, which was submitted to a state education commission, was reportedly signed by former Central Christian Academy principal Dr. Robert Shaffer in 2021 and notarized by Amesty.
Shaffer told FDLE investigators he filled out the entire document except the signature and he did not have it notarized.
According to an FDLE handwriting analyst who examined a photocopy of the document, Shaffer “highly probably did not write” his signature on the notarization section of the form.
Instead, the handwriting expert determined that Amesty “probably” wrote Shaffer’s signature. The FDLE analyst could not reach a conclusive opinion since the original document was reportedly unavailable.
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