Yet another of Ron DeSantis’ former rising stars goes down in flames. Amesty lost her re-election bid in November after she was charged with forgery-related charges. She got off relatively lightly there, with community service. She might not be so lucky with these latest charges.
The video above is from August when her forgery charges were made. Even by Florida’s standards, the corruption, both hers and other Republicans covering for her, has been egregious. Money for a car dealership that didn’t exist and the Carolina Amesty Foundation that did not have any employees went instead to purchasing furniture and paying her credit cards.
Source: Orlando Sentinel
U.S. prosecutors are charging former state Rep. Carolina Amesty with stealing from the federal government’s COVID-19 relief funds, the latest humiliating turn in the career of a woman once viewed as a rising star in the Florida GOP.
The 30-year-old Windermere Republican obtained $122,000 by fraudulently applying for pandemic relief funds in the name of two businesses, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday and announced Friday.
She faces two counts of theft of government property, each of which carries a maximum of 10 years in federal prison, officials said.
The federal charges are the second round of criminal complaints against Amesty, who in November became the only Republican state lawmaker in Florida to lose office amid a red wave of voting.
A state criminal case involving four forgery-related felony charges wrapped up in December when the charges were dismissed upon her completion of community service and a financial crimes course. The outgoing Orange-Osceola state attorney personally negotiated a plea deal that surprised some local lawyers with its leniency.
Even before the criminal cases, Amesty was a controversial figure, with her living arrangements, family-run university and business claims prompting complaints during her first run for the Florida House and triggering Orlando Sentinel investigations, which first revealed the forgery allegations.
In October 2023, another former GOP state representative, Joe Harding, was sentenced to four months in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to fraudulently applying for business loans during the pandemic.
