SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Jestine Iannotti, who ran for the District 9 Florida State Senate seat as an independent candidate in the 2020 election, on Thursday posted bond and was released after being charged in a campaign finance scheme.

Iannotti didn’t answer any questions after leaving jail in Seminole County.

What You Need To Know

  • Jestine Iannotti, a Florida State Senate candidate in 2020, has posted bond in a campaign finance case

  • Jason Brodeur ran against Democrat Patricia Sigman and Iannotti, an independent

  • According to an FDLE investigation, Iannotti was entered in the race to pull votes away from Sigman

  • Brodeur eventually defeated Sigman by 7,644 votes, more votes than Iannotti received

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement on Tuesday announced multiple charges related to campaign finance against Iannotti, of Winter Springs; James Eric Foglesong, of Winter Park; and Seminole County GOP Chair Benjamin Paris, of Longwood.

Florida State Sen. Jason Brodeur ran against two candidates in 2020 — Democrat Patricia Sigman and Iannotti.

According to an FDLE investigation, Iannotti was entered in the race to pull votes away from Sigman. The political tactic itself is legal, though some call the practice unethical.

Nick Paprocki was the campaign manager for Sigman in 2020.

“We knew it was going to be a close election,” Paprocki said from Missouri where he was working for a new campaign. “Our plan was to win this close election on the merits.”

Brodeur defeated Sigman by 7,644 votes, enough to cover the 5,787 votes cast for Iannotti.

University of Central Florida political science professor Aubrey Jewett said there is nothing illegal about someone running as a ghost candidate, but the ways they went about it "didn't follow the campaign finance rules."

Iannotti, 36, faces multiple charges — one felony count of commission of a false, fictitious or fraudulent act, statement or representation in a matter within Florida; and other counts related to the acceptance of a cash contribution and campaign finance reporting issues.

Foglesong, 45, faces felony counts of making two or more contributions through or in the name of another in an election, commission of a false, fictitious or fraudulent act, statement or representation in a matter in Florida, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. He also is charged with making an aggregate cash contribution in excess of $50 to the same candidate in an election and one count of false reporting or deliberate failure to include information as required by state campaign finance laws.

Paris, 38, is charged with making one contribution through or in the name of another in any election, a misdemeanor.

Paprocki has been in the political circle for seven years, nearly four as a campaign manager. He said they had a hunch when they were campaigning in 2020 that the race wasn’t a fully transparent one.

“We don’t have the evidence that we have today,” he said. “Which is that there is a dark money scheme used to promote a NPA (no party affiliation) candidate to siphon voters from our campaign.”

The supervisor of elections does not check the validity or reason of a person intending to run in an election. The office is designed to ensure the person running is in fact eligible to run.

Jewitt said he believes voters and candidates need to look deeper at who is appearing on a ballot.

“Just like they say, 'consumers beware,' voters need to beware and do their research,” Jewett said.

And Paprocki, who came out on the losing end of his race in 2020, said he hopes this issue makes voters aware of all the candidates on a ballot before they cast their next votes.

The case will be prosecuted by the Office of the State Attorney, 18th Judicial Circuit.