Investigator says 'fraudulent' gift to Florida's only public historically Black university is void
A record multi-million dollar gift to Florida’s only public historically Black university has completely gone up in smoke
A record multi-million dollar gift to Florida's only public historically Black university has been void for months, an independent investigator said Thursday, as a third-party report determined school officials failed to vet a “fraudulent” contribution and that the donor's self-valuation of his fledgling hemp company was “baseless.”
Little-known entrepreneur Gregory Gerami's donation of more than $237 million was “invalidated” ten days after its big reveal at Florida A&M University's graduation ceremony because of procedural missteps, investigator Michael McLaughlin told trustees.
Gerami violated his equity management account’s terms by improperly transferring 15 million stock shares in the first place, according to an Aug. 5 report by the law office of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, PC. When the company terminated Gerami’s contract on May 14, McLaughlin said, any stock certificates in FAMU Foundation’s possession were cancelled.
What’s more, the foundation never countersigned the gift agreement after both parties signed an incorrect version on the day of commencement.
Thursday's meeting came three months after that celebratory affair. The university president posed onstage with a jumbo check alongside Gerami, who was invited to speak despite a documented history of dubious business ventures and failed higher education giving.
Things soon fell apart. After almost immediate public outcry, the school paused the gift and a vice president left her position. President Larry Robinson submitted his resignation last month.
Gerami, who founded Batterson Farms Corp in 2021, told The Associated Press that he had
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