Former Rep. Carolina Amesty retains well-connected lawyer: Trump AG-pick Pam Bondi's brother

Skyler Swisher, Orlando Sentinel on Jan 22, 2025

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ORLANDO, Fla. — Facing federal criminal charges, former state Rep. Carolina Amesty has retained a well-connected lawyer to plead her case: Brad Bondi, the brother of U.S. Attorney General-nominee Pam Bondi, who if confirmed will oversee the attorneys prosecuting the embattled ex-lawmaker.

Court records show Amesty turned to Brad Bondi to contest allegations she stole money from a pandemic relief program. He is a litigator who has been lauded as a top attorney for Fortune 500 companies facing government investigations. Based in New York and Washington, D.C., Bondi is a partner in the high-powered Paul Hastings law firm.

Amesty, 30, is accused of fraudulently obtaining $122,000 in small business COVID-19 relief funds through a foundation named for herself and a car dealership that federal investigators don’t think was ever licensed to operate, according to a criminal complaint filed late last week. Once viewed as a rising star in the Florida GOP, the one-term former lawmaker from Windermere faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Elected to the Florida 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 ultimately were dismissed.

Brad Bondi and Amesty did not respond to messages this week seeking comment.

Amesty’s federal case is being handled by Roger Handberg, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Florida, who declined to comment. As attorney general, Pam Bondi would oversee the Justice Department and the work of federal prosecutors.

Pam Bondi mentioned her brother in a congressional questionnaire asking about potential conflicts of interest. She wrote she wasn’t aware of any cases that present a potential conflict but would consult with appropriate Justice Department ethics officials and act consistently with regulations in the event of one.

U.S. attorneys are appointed by the president, subject to Senate confirmation. They are subject to removal by the president.

Government ethics rules would require Pam Bondi to recuse herself from federal prosecutions in which her brother represents a party, Stephen Gillers, an expert on legal ethics at the New York University School of Law, said in an email. But Brad Bondi would have no obligation to recuse himself, and could continue to represent his client, he said.

“The rules take the position that the public cannot be expected to trust the independence and objectivity of a prosecutor’s decisions on behalf of the government if a close relative is the lawyer for the opposing party,” Gillers said in explaining why a government attorney’s recusal may be required.

The trade publication Securities Docket described Bondi as “the first choice among Boards of Directors and Audit Committees of the Fortune 500 when their company is faced with SEC or DOJ problems.” He’s also held government posts, including with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bondi represented Tesla in a 2018 settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that CEO Elon Musk misled investors with a tweet that he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private. More recently, Bondi is providing legal advice to YouTube personality “MrBeast” Jimmy Donaldson and a group of investors looking to buy the TikTok social media platform, according to a report from Bloomberg Law.

Amesty’s federal charges are the second round of criminal complaints against her. The first round of charges stemmed from allegations she improperly notarized a man’s signature on a licensing form for a small Orlando-area private college run by her family. Those charges were dismissed last month upon her completion of community supporters and a financial crimes course.

In the new federal case, investigators say Amesty and an unnamed relative applied for money through the U.S. Small Business Administration, which offered loans to small businesses and nonprofit agencies affected by the pandemic.

They applied for 15 loans and received money for eight different business entities, the complaint says, with the gross amount exceeding $500,000.

The charges stem from the money Amesty received for two of the businesses — the Carolina Amesty Foundation and Dinocar Auto Sales LLC.

The FBI and other investigators allege some of the federal money provided to the foundation and Dinocar actually was used for Amesty’s personal expenses, including furniture and credit card bills. Other funds went to support Central Christian University — the private Christian college she helped run with her father — and Amesty’s shuttered fast-food chicken restaurant, Pollo Juan, according to the complaint.

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