Ex-Florida lawmaker Carolina Amesty, accused of stealing COVID-19 funds, appears in federal court | FOX 35 Orlando
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Ex-Florida lawmaker Carolina Amesty, accused of stealing COVID-19 funds, appears in federal court

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Updated  February 18, 2025 6:16pm EST
Florida
FOX 35 Orlando

The Brief

    • Former Florida state Rep. Carolina Amesty has been charged on two counts of stealing government property.
    • Amesty is accused of misusing more than $100,000 in COVID-19 relief funds during the pandemic.
    • Each count has a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, officials said.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Carolina Amesty, a former Florida state lawmaker, appeared in federal court on Tuesday in downtown Orlando. She was charged earlier this month with allegedly embezzling or stealing more than $100,000 in COVID-19 relief funds in 2020, according to the Department of Justice.

What is Carolina Amesty accused of?

The backstory:

In January, U.S. Attorney Roger B. Hanberg charged Carolina Amesty with two counts of theft of government property related to COVID-19 funds via the C.A.R.E.S. Act, according to the criminal complaint.

According to the complaint, Amesty or her relatives submitted 15 Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration for various businesses and organizations – and received more than $500,000 in funds. In those applications, Amesty had to include gross revenues for the previous 12 months and the number of employees.

"Based upon investigation conducted to date, the representations as to the gross revenues for the 12 months prior to the date of the disaster (January 31, 2020) are incorrect on many of these applications.  For some of the applications, the entities at issue were not in existence for 12 months prior to the date of the disaster," the complaint reads.

The complaint said it's possible that Amesty may have been advised to provide projected revenues, but said bank records for some of the organizations "are inconsistent with a good faith representation that the entities would have earned the forecasted revenues."

At issue are two applications for two organizations and businesses:

  • Carolina Amesty Foundation Inc.
  • Dinocar Auto Sales LLC

The complaint said Amesty received more than $100,000 and that most of the funds were not used for the purpose intended for the loans. Investigators also allegedly found discrepancies with bank accounts, deposits, and the number of employees listed on the original applications for some of the organizations, according to the complaint.

What they're saying:

"Based on the foregoing, I submit that probable cause exists that on June 23, 2020 and July 13, 2020, AMESTY did knowingly and willfully embezzle, steal, purloin, or convert to her own use EIDL proceeds in the amount of $84,500 (Carolina Amesty Foundation Inc.) and $37,500 (Dinocar Auto Sales LLC) with the intent to deprive the United States and Small Business Administratio of the use and benefit of the funds."

If convicted, the max penalty for each count is 10 years in federal prison, a news release said.

(Credit: Carolina Amesty campaign website)

In a statement posted to her former campaign Facebook page, Carolina Amesty, denied the allegations against her and accused the Biden Administration of unfairly going after her.

"Today’s court proceeding represents a clear religious prosecution and a further personal political attack against me," Amesty said in a statement posted to her Facebook post.

"This outrageous 11th-hour prosecution demonstrates the Biden Administration’s weaponization of the justice system against conservatives, political enemies, and religious institutions. The relentless and baseless legal attacks on me and my family are outrageous remnants of the Biden DOJ and fly in the face of our Constitution. Together with my excellent and experienced legal team, we will fight this absurd prosecution, defend my innocence and the religious organizations that are under attack, and ensure the truth comes to light."

In a second post, she said Central Christian University and Central Christian Academy, two schools her family owns and runs, were 
"real schools with real students, real teachers, and real books."

Who is Carolina Amesty?

Local perspective:

Amesty earned a degree in political science and international relations from the University of Central Florida.

Amesty, a Windermere resident, served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives for Florida's 45th District, which includes parts of Orange and Osceola counties from November 2022 to November 2024.

Amesty took office at the age of only 27 on Nov. 8, 2022, after winning the Republican primaries with 45% of the votes in a race among five candidates, where her main opponent was Allie Braswell.

In November 2024, Amesty then lost her seat to Democratic candidate Leonard Spencer, who beat her 51% to 49%.

Charges dropped in forgery case. Here's why.

Dig deeper:

In August 2024, Amesty was arrested after a grand jury indicted her on four charges: forgery, uttering a forgery, false acknowledgment or certificate by a public notary and notarizing her own signature. 

The alleged charges were apparently linked to her time as an administrator at her family's nonprofit school, Central Christian Academy. Amesty was alleged to have notarized a document with a forged signature. 

Amesty surrendered to the Orange County Jail following the August indictment, was booked, and later released from custody on bond.

In December, the forgery charges filed against Amesty were dropped after she completed a diversion program, according to the State Attorney's Office.

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The Source: This story was written based on previous reporting, as well as information collected in court documents from the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida.

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