Prosecutors no longer seeking indictment against former Florida state Rep. Carolina Amesty, her attorney says

Annie Martin, Orlando Sentinel on Aug 6, 2025

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ORLANDO, Fla. — The federal government is no longer seeking an indictment against Carolina Amesty, attorneys for the former Florida lawmaker say, citing “significant exculpatory material” her defense has provided in the case.

The criminal investigation into Amesty, who was accused of fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 relief loans in 2020 while working as an administrator for her family’s university, has ended, her attorney Brad Bondi wrote in a motion filed in federal court on Wednesday.

The filing does not provide details on the materials that may have led federal prosecutors to stop their pursuit of an indictment against Amesty. But her attorneys wrote in an earlier filing that they have more than 500 pages of documents they believe are exculpatory, a legal term referring to evidence that would justify or rebut allegedly illegal behavior.

A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Gregory Kehoe of the Middle District of Florida declined to comment on the matter. Bondi did not immediately respond to an email from the Orlando Sentinel.

Last month, federal prosecutors sought more time to obtain an indictment, citing an “ongoing investigation” and a pending sealed motion before a grand jury. But Bondi wrote in this week’s filing that the probe is no longer ongoing and asked a federal judge to reconsider an earlier decision that provided more time for prosecutors to file an indictment.

Amesty, 30, is accused of fraudulently obtaining $122,000 in small business COVID-19 relief funds through a foundation bearing her name and a car dealership that federal investigators don’t think was ever licensed to operate, according to a criminal complaint filed in January.

The FBI and other investigators concluded the federal money provided to the foundation and the business actually was used for Amesty’s personal expenses, including furniture and credit card bills. Some money also went to support Central Christian University — the private Christian college she helped run with her father — and Amesty’s now closed fast-food restaurant, Pollo Juan, they said.

Once viewed as a rising star in the Florida GOP, Amesty faces two counts of theft of government property, punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. The Republican from Windermere has maintained her innocence since the complaint became public in January, writing in a social media post that a court proceeding where the charges were outlined amounted to a “personal political attack.”

Brad Bondi, her attorney, is a high-powered litigator and the brother of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Within hours of the first hearing related to the case in February, the U.S. Justice Department announced that U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg, who revealed the Amesty prosecution and was appointed during Biden’s tenure, was out of the job. Kehoe — a Tampa defense lawyer, former federal prosecutor, and friend of Pam Bondi — was selected to serve as Handberg’s replacement.

Elected to the House in 2022, Amesty narrowly lost her reelection bid in November to Democrat Leonard Spencer, a former Disney executive. She ran while facing state forgery charges that were subsequently dismissed by outgoing Orange-Osceola state attorney Andrew Bain, an appointee of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, upon her completion of community service and a financial crimes course.

Those state charges stemmed from evidence, first published by the Orlando Sentinel, that she improperly notarized a man’s signature on a licensing form for the small Orlando-area college run by her family. Outgoing Orange-Osceola State Attorney Andrew Bain, an appointee of DeSantis, dismissed those charges in a negotiated settlement and they disappeared from the public’s view last month after Amesty asked a judge to expunge the records.

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