State Rep. Amesty indicted on forgery charges

Florida State Rep. Carolina Amesty, 29, has been indicted on four forgery charges.

Windermere resident Amesty has represented District 45, which includes Horizon West, Windermere and Winter Garden, since November 2022.

Orange County Jail records show the Republican lawmaker was arrested on two counts of forgery, one count of illegally notarizing her own signature on documents, and one count of falsely certifying a signature as a notary.

Amesty, who has been under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement since last year, when the Orlando Sentinel reported she was alleged to have notarized a form that a man didn't remember signing, surrendered to Orange County authorities Thursday, Aug. 29.

Booking sheets list the Orange County Sheriff’s Office as the arresting agency.

The man in question was identified by the Sentinel as Robert Shaffer. Schaffer said he did not work at the school, but Amesty's campaign said he worked there under a university's business umbrella. 

Amesty called claims “outrageous and false” and said the Sentinel's “efforts to drum up an inquiry against [her] are part of a pattern.”

"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," Amesty's campaign said in a prepared statement on Thursday. "Rep. Amesty calls for a speedy trial, looks forward to her day in court and is confident of her public vindication."

Amesty's bond is set at $20,000, and the FDLE has not yet commented on her case.

Amesty is running for reelection this year and faces former Walt Disney World executive Leonard Spencer.

This is a developing story. Please check back for more updates.