Florida’s State University System Board of Governors is taking over an investigation into a questionable gift given to Florida A&M University (FAMU).
The Historically Black College & University (HBCU) in Tallahassee, accepted a $237 million donation from a man who claims he’s a Texas hemp-investor.
"My office will work with the external legal firm engaged by FAMU's Board of Trustees to conduct the investigation," the Board of Governors' Inspector General Julie Leftheris said in a letter to FAMU President Larry Robinson on Friday.
The Board of Governors' has also hired Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, a law firm headquartered in Pittsburgh, to look into the donation. It will be tasked with reviewing and investigating the value of the shares. Meanwhile, the university has been instructed to cut communication with Gerami.
Who is Gregory Gerami?
Some officials believe Gregory Gerami is a scammer. He’s the man who offered Florida A&M what he says was nearly a quarter billion dollars in shares to his privately owned company, Batterson Farms Corp. in Texas.
Batterson Farms specializes in growing industrial hemp and FAMU’s hemp research prompted Gerami to make the sizable donation.
“To be able to choose a university where our legacy will continue and be the most impactful for generations and generations to come, that is the most important thing," said Gerami.
FAMU’s President Larry Robinson kept news of the gift under wraps for months, because he said he was bound by a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) not to tell anyone, until after the deal was finalized. Then, during graduation, he announced the gift.
“This is a transformative gift to this institution," Robinson said during a May 15 special board meeting. "We can’t tell you how much we appreciate it. And to the students, the message is that somebody is watching all of the time.”
Robinson hoped to use the money for student success programs and improving aging athletic facilities on campus.
But that idea was short-lived.
Since the donation came in the form of shares in Gerami’s private company, the school cannot easily convert them to cash and FAMU would also need Gerami’s permission to sell the stocks. Also, it’s not clear whether those shares are really worth what Gerami says they are. FAMU has been doing its part to look into what happened.
A message from Chair Kristin Harper, FAMU Board of Trustees… pic.twitter.com/V3Zfo43uoU
— FAMU National Alumni (@FAMUNationalAA) May 11, 2024
“What is our process for major gifts?," the University’s BOT chair Kristin Harper asked during an emergency trustee meeting. ”Did this situation conform to policies, processes, delegated authorities, and internal controls? How and by whom was the value of the gift determined?”
Gerami has no previous ties to FAMU. According to his company’s website, he founded Batterson Farms in 2017, and began focusing on farming in 2020. Yet, there’s little information online about his farming business.
In 2023, the Texas hemp investor attempted to offer another school a $95 million donation, but that fell through. Robinson said he overlooked Gerami’s past because he felt the school needed the money.
“I wanted it to be real and ignored the warning signs along the way," he said. "There was no personal gain. But the impact on our students and our university would have been extraordinary.
Amid the ongoing fallout over the donation, FAMU's Vice President of University Advancement Shawnta Friday-Stroud, resigned from that position but continues to hold other positions at the university.
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