Marion County jurors found an Ocala woman guilty of over a dozen counts of fraudulently using personal information, a few years after she took part in a petition fraud scheme tied to a casino gaming initiative.
On Wednesday, July 30, 2025, following a jury trial, 26-year-old Maria Guadalupe Bautista was convicted on 13 counts of fraudulent use of personal information.
Back in 2023, then-24-year-old Bautista was originally arrested after investigators uncovered a petition fraud scheme she was involved in, which used falsified petition signatures of multiple individuals, including an elected government official.
According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, agents met with the Marion County Supervisor of Elections (SOE) in November of 2021 regarding a complaint of “widespread fraud.” SOE staff had identified hundreds of petition forms that were suspected of being forged.
Specifically, those forged petition forms were related to a proposed constitutional amendment for the limited authorization of casino gaming.
“This fraud is a way to run around the state’s legislative process and turn Florida’s Constitution into a playground for political gamesmanship, and it’s unacceptable,” said Attorney General James Uthmeier.
FDLE stated that a woman serving as a paid petition circulator, identified as Bautista, had turned in 191 of the suspected fraudulent forms.
An investigation was conducted by FDLE, and agents confirmed that 16 of the petitions submitted by Bautista contained fraudulent signatures. According to FDLE, two of those petitions were for individuals who had passed away prior to the date on the signed forms.
Law enforcement officers made contact with Bautista in Gainesville. During an interview, she advised that she began working for a political action committee after seeing an ad for an open position on Craigslist.
According to the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office, investigators showed Bautista one of the fraudulent petition forms, and she confirmed that her signature was on it. This form contained the voter information of a Marion County elected official.
Probable cause was established for Bautista’s arrest, and she was taken into custody and booked into Marion County Jail in August of 2023. She was initially charged with 16 counts of fraudulently using personal identification information.
Bautista’s case went to trial last week. Jurors ultimately found her guilty on 13 counts of personal identification fraud, and she was acquitted on the remaining three charges.
A sentencing hearing for Bautista will be scheduled at a later time, pending a pre-sentencing investigation. She is facing a minimum mandatory sentence of three years in prison.
