A federal judge on Thursday dismissed the felony charges against former Republican State Rep. Carolina Amesty.
U.S. Attorney Gregory Kehoe filed the dismissal request on Wednesday. He did not give a reason but simply cited "the interest of justice."
The original complaint, filed in January by the previous U.S. attorney, alleged two felony counts of theft of government property. Federal investigators alleged the theft of $122,000 in federal funds through a COVID disaster loan program for businesses and nonprofits.
The case was never presented to a grand jury.
Amesty posted on X that her legal team "masterfully refuted all the false allegations against me and cleared my name." Her lawyer is Brad Bondi, brother of Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“Without providing any explanation or argument in support of its request, the United States
asks the Court to dismiss the criminal complaint,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Norway wrote in his order. He granted the request, noting that the government has “absolute discretion” to decide whether or not to prosecute a case.
It's the second time in less than a year that criminal charges against Amesty have been dismissed. State charges alleging misuse of her notary commission were dropped in December after she completed a diversion program.
Amesty served one term representing House District 45, which covers the western parts of Orange and Osceola counties. She lost her re-election bid in November to Democrat Leonard Spencer.
