Florida university officials ‘allowed themselves to be deceived’ with botched 9-figure donation

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Florida A&M University officials "allowed themselves to be deceived by" the promise of a nine-figure gift that ended up being "fraudulent," an investigation ordered by the school revealed, an embarrassing exclamation point to a scandal that has roiled the university.

The final report detailing the probe , released this week ahead of a board of trustees meeting Thursday, illustrates that top FAMU leaders failed to properly vet the gift and sacrificed “due diligence” by pushing to announce it during commencement, causing officials to “overlook and ignore critical red flags.”

At the same time, the investigation provides key new details surrounding the donor, Gregory Gerami, who was billed as a wealthy hemp farmer from Texas but is instead alleged to have “orchestrated a complex and deceitful scheme to fraudulently induce” investors.

“The evidence collected in this investigation supports the conclusion that senior leadership at the University were deceived by, and allowed themselves to be deceived by, the Donor — Mr. Gregory Gerami,” according to the report from Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, the firm commissioned by FAMU.

The detailed findings confirm doubts raised by FAMU trustees and others about the legitimacy of the donation, which fell apart shortly after it was announced publicly to much fanfare. Even before the report was finalized, the fallout from the donation sparked the resignations of two top officials involved: President Larry Robinson and Shawnta Friday-Stroud , FAMU’s vice president for university advancement and executive director of the school’s fundraising foundation.

The investigation determined that Robinson and Friday-Stroud “had direct involvement and oversight” of the gift, with Robinson going as far to repeatedly tell staff “not to mess this up.” According to investigators, this influenced the school to forge ahead with the donation “despite the existence of derogatory information” about the donor.

The report confirms that FAMU never conducted or required an independent valuation of the gift, which came in the form of stock of Batterson Farms Corporation, a private company, that the donor said was valued at $237 million. This was a “critical oversight that compromised the integrity of the vetting process” for FAMU, “demonstrating a significant lapse in due diligence,” according to the investigation.

“Neither Batterson Farms Corporation nor any of its affiliated companies had the resources available to meet the promises made in the Gift Agreement,” the report states. “The University could have avoided most, if not all, of the issues surrounding the Major Gift Agreement had due diligence been conducted in September 2023.”

Regarding the donor, Gerami, investigators noted that his business ventures “have been significantly tainted by reports of fraudulent activities, manipulative tactics, and a web of deceit that entrapped investors and associates.” The report claims that Gerami “employed various manipulative tactics, including false promises, secrecy, emotional manipulation, and leveraging purported university partnerships to secure substantial financial contributions in exchange for shares” in his companies.

With his hemp business flailing, Gerami turned his focus to selling products like clothes and accessories online, something he pitched to investors after “setbacks” in the farming industry, according to the report. Gerami claimed that colleges and universities would give his company access to student and alumni email lists to promote his e-commerce site and approached several schools about the idea, including University of Mississippi, the University of Texas at Austin, Oakwood University, Miles College, Coastal Carolina University and Wiley University.

“Mr. Gerami's actions suggested a calculated effort to defraud the investors and partners by presenting ambitious but ultimately unverified business ventures,” according to the report. “The involvement of universities served to lend an air of legitimacy to the schemes, making the investors and partners more likely to invest."

Gerami could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but told the Tallahassee Democrat that he disagreed with the findings . His company website was no longer in operation.

In addition to detailing how the donation unfolded, the report urged FAMU officials to change school policies, position descriptions, and its organizational structure to avoid similar failures in the future. That’s something trustees are likely to consider in the coming months as they come to grips with the investigation.

“The core of the University senior leadership's failures was an overwhelming desire to receive and utilize the Major Gift, prioritizing this above all else,” the investigation determined.