An Ocala woman who forged signatures on nearly 200 petitions related to a casino gaming initiative has been sentenced to over four years in prison.
On Wednesday, Maria Guadalupe Bautista, 26, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison. Earlier this year, a Marion County jury found her guilty of 13 counts of fraudulent use of personal information.
According to court records, the then-24-year-old Bautista was arrested in 2023 after investigators discovered a petition fraud operation in which she participated, which used fraudulent petition signatures from various individuals, including an elected government official…