Erik Fresen

Erik Fresen (born June 9, 1976) is a former Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 114th District, which stretches from West Miami to Cutler Bay in northeastern Miami-Dade County, since 2012, previously representing the 111th District from 2008 to 2012.

Erik Fresen
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 114th district
In office
November 20, 2012 – November 20, 2016
Preceded byAna Rivas Logan
Succeeded byDaisy Baez
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 111th district
In office
November 18, 2008 – November 20, 2012
Preceded byMarco Rubio
Succeeded byEduardo González
Personal details
Born (1976-06-09) June 9, 1976
Miami, Florida
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Ethel Fresen
Children3
Alma materFlorida State University (B.S.)
ProfessionLand use consultant

In 2017 he pled guilty to tax evasion in 2011 and was sentenced to 60 days in jail.[1]

History

Fresen was born in Miami and attended Florida State University, receiving a degree in finance and international affairs. Following graduation, he worked as a legislative aide from 2000 to 2002, and then worked as a land use consultant for Holland & Knight from 2005 to 2008, and then for Civica from 2008 to the present.

Florida House of Representatives

Erik Fresen was recommended by The Miami Herald for State Representative District 114 on October 11, 2014.[2] In 2008, when State Representative Marco Rubio, the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives and the future United States Senator, was unable to seek re-election due to term limits, Fresen ran to succeed him in the 111th District, which stretched from Hialeah to South Miami in eastern Miami-Dade County. Fresen faced Rafael Luiz Perez, a former aide to Rubio, in the Republican primary, whom he was narrowly able to beat, winning with 52% of the vote to Perez's 48%. Advancing to the general election, he faced Frank Morra, the Democratic nominee, whom he was able to easily dispatch, winning his first term in the legislature with 59% of the vote. Running for re-election in 2010, Fresen ran unopposed before facing Democratic nominee Cristina Albright, whom he defeated with 64% of the vote.

When the state's legislative districts were redrawn in 2012, Fresen opted to run for re-election in the 114th District, which contained most of the territory that he previously represented in Miami-Dade County. He was opposed in the Republican primary by Amory Bodin, who criticized Fresen for voting for what Bodin referred to as "tax increases, pork barrel spending, and budgets with enormous hidden deficits," and called attention to Fresen's alleged financial irregularities.[3] Regardless, Bodin did not pose a serious challenge to Fresen's campaign, and Fresen easily won the primary, receiving 72% of the vote to his opponent's 28%. In the general election, he was opposed by Ross Hancock, the Democratic nominee, and a contentious election ensued. Ultimately, Fresen narrowly won re-election over Hancock, defeating his opponent by just 1,403 votes and with 51% of the vote.

Controversy

On December 5, 2012, the Florida Ethics Commission announced that it had found "probable cause" that Fresen "failed to properly disclose his annual net worth, assets, and liabilities from 2008 to 2011," which Fresen called "baseless and pointless" and a "textbook political attack." He also faced a lawsuit filed against him by a mortgage company after he did not make payments on his house, a $29,199 lien from the Internal Revenue Service for taxes owed, and a $10,000 lien from the Miami-Dade Building Department for a code enforcement violation."[4] Fresen reached an agreement with Diane Guillemette, the state advocate, wherein he "conceded that there were minor mistakes on the disclosure forms he filed between 2008 and 2011," but the agreement was rejected by the Ethics Commission because Fresen had not paid a $1,500 ethics fine from when he had not filed a financial disclosure form as a legislative aide. Commissioner Linda Robison suggested that a "public censure" might be needed and announced, "I find this appalling and I think his constituents need to know he never paid a fine that was assessed."[5]

Fresen was named “legislator of the year” by Florida’s for-profit college lobbying group, the Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools & Colleges, in 2013. Fresen has received at least $25,500 from the “career college” industry, made up mostly of for-profit schools. [6][7] A conflict of interest ethics complaint was filed against him in 2011 for voting on a proposal that would give benefits to some charter schools, and in the 2016 legislative session he has fast-tracked a bill to force Florida public school districts to share their construction tax money with charters. [8]

Conviction

On September 29, 2017, the Miami Herald reported that Fresen will serve 60 days in jail and a year of probation for failing to file a 2011 tax return. Although he was only charged for the missing 2011 return, he didn't properly report his income to the IRS from 2007 - 2016, a period that included his years in the Florida House. He has since repaid all monies owed.[9][10]


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References
  1. The Associated Press (April 26, 2017). theledger.com https://www.theledger.com/news/20170426/former-state-lawmaker-pleads-guilty-to-tax-evasion. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. http://erikfresen2014.com/
  3. Caputo, Marc (June 23, 2012). "GOP newcomer Amory Bodin bashes Rep. Fresen as lobbyist pal". Miami Herald. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  4. Klas, Mary Ellen (December 5, 2012). "State ethics commission: State Rep. Erik Fresen may have failed to disclose personal finances". Miami Herald. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  5. McGrory, Kathleen (December 13, 2013). "Ethics Commission scolds state Rep. Erik Fresen for unpaid fine". Miami Herald. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  6. Vasquez, Michael (November 30, 2015). "Florida lawmakers consider bills to protect for-profit college students". Miami Herald. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  7. "For-Profit Erik Fresen: Fighting for For-Profit Schools, NOT Florida Students". FloridaStrong. December 2, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  8. Veiga, Christina (February 12, 2016). "Rep. Fresen's close ties to charter schools continue to raise questions of conflict". Miami Herald. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  9. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida (September 29, 2017). "Former State Representative Erik Fresen Sentenced for Failing to File Tax Return". justice.gov.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ALLISON NIELSEN (September 29, 2017). "Former State Rep. Erik Fresen Sentenced to 60 Days in Jail for Tax Evasion". sunshinestatenews.com.
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