Drew Wilson
Former Republican Rep. Erik Fresen‘s campaign account for his 2020 bid for Senate District 37 was zeroed out Wednesday with more than $125,000 in expenditures, most of which headed to charities.
Fresen represented part of Miami in the Florida House from 2008 through 2016, and did not file any personal tax returns while in office. Earlier this year he pled guilty to not filing his 2011 return and is currently serving the first of four 15-day-long stints in jail.
Among the expenditures listed on Fresen’s final campaign finance report were $20,000 to Coral Gables-based Generation N Media, $5,525 to accounting firm Riesco and Company, $3,000 for Discover credit card bills related to meals and travel, about $2,850 in payments to Extra Space Storage in Miami as well as about $330 for a few months of phone service from AT&T.
The rest of the money in his campaign account headed to various charities, about $93,000, with Liga Contra El Cancer receiving the largest donation at $20,000.
That contribution was followed by a $15,000 donation to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, $12,000 to Corpus Christi Catholic Church, $10,000 a piece to Amigos for Kids and American Dominican Alumnae, and $5,000 a piece to the United State Military Foundation, Jorge Mas Freedom Foundation, St. John Bosco Parrish, Lotus House and Agape Network.
The Children’s Miracle Network received $500 and Delou Africa got the final $857.53 in the account on Nov. 17, two days after Fresen reported to jail.
Fresen was running against Democratic Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez for SD 37, and no other Republicans have filed to run against the incumbent since Fresen exited the race.
