FAMU launches investigation after determining $237 million donation was likely a sham

Two weeks after announcing a record-breaking $237 million donation to Florida A&M University (FAMU), the school’s president, Larry Robinson, is apologizing after the donation’s validity was questioned.

During a special meeting of the FAMU Board of Trustees on Wednesday, Robinson admitted that his optimism about the donation led him to miss warning signs. “I wanted it to be real and ignored the warning signs,” Robinson said. “There was no personal gain. But the impact on our students and our university would have been extraordinary.”

The major donation was unexpectedly announced during the opening on May 4th. Robinson and Texas-based hemp investor and commencement speaker Gregory Gerami said Gerami received the money in the form of shares in his private company, Batterson Farms Corp. donated.

About six FAMU officials reportedly decided to accept a large gift from Gregory Gerami, CEO of Batterson Farms Corp., without informing other key university stakeholders, including members of the FAMU Foundation Board of Directors and Board of Trustees.

According to WUSF, the local NPR radio station, Gerami’s business background is questionable and he has made large gift promises to other institutions in the past, but they have not yet come to fruition. Now, Gerami’s ability to fulfill this donation has not been addressed, and the HBC is addressing the possibility that the money will not materialize as promised.

A few days after declaring that the historic donation had been put on hold, Robinson announced that it had been “stopped.” It was unclear what Robinson meant, including whether the gift was rejected.

The university’s trustees voted unanimously to investigate the questionable transaction and the school’s process for major donations and donor vetting.

Robinson took responsibility for the poor audit of the donor, who was honored as the keynote speaker at a graduation ceremony in the spring.

“The public announcement at the outset was premature at best and I apologize to everyone who witnessed this and shared their joy and jubilation. “I am confident that with the guidance of this body we will have a much more transparent process when it comes to such large donations in the future,” he continued.

Robinson also apologized to Board of Trustees Chairwoman Kristin Harper, to which she responded: “I should never have been put on the spot or used for a convenient photo or video op for a gift I didn’t know about,” Harper said .