Agriculture Commissioner
Nikki Fried on Friday addressed questions about recent changes in reported income for past years, saying they were simply attempts to fix an “error.”
Tallahassee Reports broke the story this week that Fried “overlooked” reporting more than $350,000 in consulting income in 2018, a year she ran successfully for the Cabinet post.
However, the Commissioner told a statewide radio audience that the whole matter was overblown.
“We amended our financial forms. It was an error we saw when we were working through my forms this year. Basically what had happened, which was very simple, I gave my attorneys back in 2018 my salary for 2018. Um, it was roughly six months of income from January to when I announced. And we realized that in 2017 gross income also included all of my business income and reimbursements and that should have also been reported, not just my salary,” Fried added.