TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried’s office issued a second administrative complaint to a charity affiliated with former President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Sidney Powell, for failing to register with the state, despite telling residents it was registered as it sought donations.
Fried told reporters Friday her office received a complaint against Defending the Republic Inc. in November, after the election. When her office contacted the group, its representatives first told her investigators they were a different organization going by the same name, which further investigation showed to be false.
Charities have been required to register with the state for decades. But it was only in 2014 that Florida lawmakers passed sweeping reforms requiring charities to reveal more financial data to the state, after a Tampa Bay Times story detailing numerous charities paying exorbitant salaries to executives while doing minimal charity work.
