Florida State Rep Notarized Document that Teacher says he Did Not Sign

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

The Orlando Sentinel investigates how Florida state House Representative Carolina Amesty's family obtained a state license for an unaccredited "Christian University."

Posted by YAV at 08:33 PM | 25 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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Unfortunately for the Amesty's five people listed as faculty in Central Christian's application, including those with degrees from highly selective colleges, never worked for the university. Rep Amesty also forged a signature of one and notarized the document.

The school was granted its license. Those responsible have stopped answering follow-up emails.

#1 | Posted by YAV at 2024-03-26 10:42 PM | Reply

*Those responsible - meaning those in the State of Florida that are supposed to verify and grant the licenses.

#2 | Posted by YAV at 2024-03-26 10:47 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

The full (more than 60 character headline...)

Rep. Carolina Amesty notarized document that teacher says he never signed

Oh, that ain't good.

The sub-headline...

The form likely helped her family's Central Christian University get a state license

Oh, this just gets so much worse.

More from the cited article...

... Three years ago, state Rep. Carolina Amesty's family wanted a Florida license for the small, unaccredited university they run from a busy commercial street west of Orlando.

Central Christian University applied for that license by submitting documents showing it had professors with graduate degrees, including some from elite schools such as Georgetown and Harvard.

But five people listed as faculty in Central Christian's application, including those with degrees from highly selective colleges, never worked for the university.

Amesty, 29, an Orlando-area Republican elected to the Florida House in 2022, notarized one of those documents, claiming Robert Shaffer, a veteran educator with a Ph.D. from the University of Florida, started work at the university in Pine Hills in August 2021.

Shaffer, however, said he never worked there nor signed the form Amesty claimed he did.

"If I was called to court, I would say that is not my signature," Shaffer said. ...

This is the governance that Gov DeSantis has said he wants to bring to all of America?

#3 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-03-26 10:53 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 5

@#3 ... This is the governance that Gov DeSantis has said he wants to bring to all of America? ...

OK that aside...

What does this say about education in Florida?

That you can now purchase what how you educate the children of Florida?

And Republicans complain about indoctrination?

When they seem to actively participate in that activity?

Wow.

#4 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-03-26 10:58 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 2

It's all a scam. The GOP is a scam. The entire Conservative Christian movement is a scam.

#5 | Posted by snoofy at 2024-03-26 11:07 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 10

Scam. Grift. Corruption.

"Yes. Yes. Yes. Please sir, may I have some more?" -- Modern GOP

#6 | Posted by rstybeach11 at 2024-03-26 11:32 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 2

Wow.

#4 | POSTED BY LAMPLIGHTER

I'm sorry the consistent Republican hypocrisy is surprising to you. Welcome to the fore.

#7 | Posted by rstybeach11 at 2024-03-26 11:36 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

@#7 ... I'm sorry the consistent Republican hypocrisy is surprising to you. ...

Don't feel sorry for me.

I am subject to the ramifications of my opinions and views. But I'll survive and be happy. :)

OK, that aside...

It is not the "consistent Republican hypocrisy" that is surprising to me.

What is surprising to me are two things...

1) the apparent escalation in said Republican hypocrisy

and

2) that (1) seems to be akin to a boiling frog among the GOP cult.

Boiling frog
en.wikipedia.org

... The boiling frog is an apologue describing a frog being slowly boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is put suddenly into boiling water, it will jump out, but if the frog is put in tepid water which is then brought to a boil slowly, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. The story is often used as a metaphor for the inability or unwillingness of people to react to or be aware of sinister threats that arise gradually rather than suddenly. ...

#8 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-03-26 11:49 PM | Reply

Where's that fat bloated Floribama skank telling us it's all gunfire in Chicago???

#9 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2024-03-27 12:05 AM | Reply

Rep. Carolina Amesty notarized document that teacher says he never signed

Oh, that ain't good.

The sub-headline...

The form likely helped her family's Central Christian University get a state license

Bearing false witness is so spot on for modern Chreestians

#10 | Posted by Nixon at 2024-03-27 08:19 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 2

Evidence exhibit 8,654,982 that Republicans are fake Chreestian scum who are really just about lying and cheating to take as much as they can from as many people as they can.

#11 | Posted by jpw at 2024-03-27 05:05 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

And Christ said "Leech off the taxpayer in all thy affairs".

#12 | Posted by zarnon at 2024-03-27 09:24 PM | Reply

Rep. Carolina Amesty notarized document that teacher says he never signed

Oh, that ain't good.
- gaslighter

It's not? Isn't the notary required to keep metadata information about the document?

Should be easy enough to resolve.

I thought the notary had to also get signatures of those as well. Could be wrong but whenever a notary was involved, it seemed like I signed alot of documents.

#13 | Posted by oneironaut at 2024-03-27 09:32 PM | Reply

#13 You do realize that the woman who notarized the document is the same one who likely forged the signature--or knows who did--and whose family benefited from the documents she notarized?

#14 | Posted by Gal_Tuesday at 2024-03-27 09:41 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

#13 You do realize that the woman who notarized the document is the same one who likely forged the signature--or knows who did--and whose family benefited from the documents she notarized?

#14 | POSTED BY GAL_TUESDAY

I understood, but the system is built to handle this case. The whole point is to avoid falsifying documents.

There should be a log book from the notary, with everyones signature (as I understand it).

Again should be simple to verify.

#15 | Posted by oneironaut at 2024-03-27 10:06 PM | Reply | Funny: 1

By verify, I mean to test the idea it was falsified (date, time etc, could be cross checked against say phone location data, other witnesses etc etc.)

The meta data helps resolve the issue.

#16 | Posted by oneironaut at 2024-03-27 10:08 PM | Reply | Funny: 1

Rather than the teacher having to prove the signature isn't his--and why would it be when it didn't work at the school?--it seems like the "notary" whose family benefited from the forged document should have to prove it is.

#17 | Posted by Gal_Tuesday at 2024-03-27 10:13 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 3

POSTED BY 1LUMPER2

Why do you go to such lengths to prove you don't know what you're talking about?

#18 | Posted by ClownShack at 2024-03-27 10:26 PM | Reply

District 45

#19 | Posted by ichiro at 2024-03-28 12:45 AM | Reply

"I understood, but the system is built to handle this case. There should be a log book from the notary, with everyones signature (as I understand it"

No it's not. The system sucks. Log books are optional in most states, and even where they are, a corrupt notary would simply falsify the logbook as well.

Notaries also cannot keep make copies of the documents they are notarizing. That is necessary for privacy reasons, but creates a huge opportunity for fraud. IMO, there should be a notary block on every single page, not just the last one. It is far too easy to swap out pages, completely altering the document. I worked a case involving an elderly woman (and an honest notary) who signed a limited power of attorney to allow her handyman to sell an old Buick, but afterwards, he switched the pages to give him access to all her financial accounts, then wiped her out and left town, in the Buick.

#20 | Posted by Miranda7 at 2024-03-28 03:05 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

The entire Conservative Christian movement is a scam.

#5 | Posted by snoofy at 2024-03-26 11:07 PM | Reply | Flag

All religions are a scam.

Period.

God is all knowing, all powerful, all loving, all forgiving yet he was so powerful he created his only enemy and now cannot defeat him. Everything is done according his divine plan that only he knows, but if you don't follow his plan that you don't know you will be condemned to burn in hell for eternity for not loving him enough to follow his plan blindly. He also needs your money because apparently he cannot make his own.

#21 | Posted by Nixon at 2024-03-28 07:42 AM | Reply

it seems like the "notary" whose family benefited from the forged document should have to prove it is.

Notary's are supposed to witness the signature and be given appropriate ID to identify the signor.

Supposed to is the very very operative word in that sentence.

#22 | Posted by Nixon at 2024-03-28 07:44 AM | Reply

Yes but did the university have a dei policy. That would be the real scandal!!

#23 | Posted by truthhurts at 2024-03-28 07:44 AM | Reply

#16 | Posted by oneironaut

You have been watching too much "CSI"...

#24 | Posted by GalaxiePete at 2024-03-28 04:17 PM | Reply

But please, tell me again how Floriduh and Abbottistan are not the two most corrupt state sin America.

#25 | Posted by e1g1 at 2024-03-28 04:21 PM | Reply