Carolina Amesty, 30, a Venezuelan immigrant who served a single term in Florida’s legislature (read her bio here), is with embezzling $122,000 of Covid relief funds, an Orlando TV station reported on Friday, January 17, 2025 (read story here).
She’s accused of diverting the money “for personal expenses, including credit card payments and furniture purchases,” the TV station reported. She previously was indicted for forgery, but got those charges dismissed through a diversion program.
Both incidents occurred after Trump endorsed her for a legislative seat in 2022. She won that race, but lost to a Disney executive in 2024.
Another Florida GOP ex-legislator, Joe Harding, also got in trouble for misuse of a similar amount ($150,000) federal Covid funds; he was sentenced to four months in prison (details here). That suggests Amesty, if convicted, could face jail time — especially if a sentencing judge takes into account her prior crime of moral turpitude.
