Central Florida Rep. Carolina Amesty resigned from her notary office last month, blocking an investigation by the governor's office into whether she violated the state's notary laws.

The notary's office in the governor's office launched an investigation into the new lawmaker's conduct. It was one of two investigations launched by a state agency after the Orlando Sentinel published an investigation in March that found the Orlando-area Republican had notarized an employment contract form for a man who said he never signed the document. A Sentinel reader filed a complaint based on that article.

However, the office decided it no longer had jurisdiction over the matter after Amesty resigned from her notary office on June 10, according to a letter from notary coordinator Diedre Leaks to Sentinel reader Dennis Warren. Leaks also wrote that the governor's office cannot file criminal charges or declare a notarized document null and void.

Amesty's notary commission would have expired in December 2026, according to the Division of Corporations, which oversees notaries in Florida. Notaries in Florida are state-appointed officials who can certify the authenticity of signatures on important documents.

Amesty wrote in an email to the Sentinel that she had resigned from her notary position because she no longer needed it and it made “no sense” for her to continue it.

“As a state representative, my top priority is to take care of my community,” Amesty wrote.

Amesty, 29, has repeatedly declined to be interviewed by Sentinel reporters.

The questionable signature is found on an employment contract signed by Robert Shaffer, a veteran educator who said he neither signed the form nor worked for Central Christian University, a small school run by Amesty's family on North Hiawassee Road in Orange County. Amesty, who previously served as vice president of Central Christian, had the form notarized while working at the college. She said earlier this year that she was no longer employed by the university.

Although he says he has never worked at the university, Shaffer served as principal of the Amesty family's adjacent K-12 school for two years and worked as a teacher at an A-rated charter school in Orange County last year.

Through her lawyer, Amesty provided the newspaper with an affidavit earlier this year in which she swore she saw 87-year-old Shaffer notarize the form that day.

However, three handwriting experts consulted by the Sentinel said the signature was unlikely to be his. One said there was “no chance” that Shaffer signed the document. Two of the experts said Shaffer's signature could be Amesty's. The third agreed that Amesty's handwriting was similar to the handwriting in the signature line of Shaffer's personnel form, but did not comment on whether she had written his name.

The Governor's Office Notary Division confirmed the investigation into the matter in May when it sent a letter to Warren, a retired police officer who lives in Seminole County.

As part of the investigation launched by the governor's office, Amesty was required to provide a sworn written response to each of the issues under investigation, according to a letter Leaks sent to Warren last month.

The governor's office's investigation is separate from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's investigation, which told the Sentinel last week that it has an active investigation involving Amesty and Central Christian University.

A spokesman for the authority declined to provide further details about the police investigation.

Under Florida law, notarizing a signature by a notary public “falsely or fraudulently” is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Amesty was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2022 to represent a district that includes much of southwest Orange, including Walt Disney World, and part of northwest Osceola County. She is seeking re-election this year and has one opponent: Democrat Leonard Spencer, a first-time candidate for public office and former Disney executive who now works for Amazon.

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