Warnings and worries: Inside the Florida A&M emails on dubious $237 million gift
A few weeks before Florida A&M University rolled out a celebratory $237 million donation announcement, one of the nation’s leading financial service companies said it would no longer stand by the accuracy of donor Gregory Gerami’s account value.
Gerami — a Texas hemp farmer who announced the multi-million-dollar gift to FAMU on May 4 during a spring commencement ceremony — was a client of Raymond James Financial Services, which issued him a Verification of Deposit letter on Feb. 1 and March 1 to reflect the balance in his account ahead of his gift agreement with FAMU.
But the financial firm changed its mind a month later.
“Effective April 10th, 2024, Raymond James will no longer provide a value for the securities in Mr. Gerami’s account and no longer stand by the verification of deposit letter that you may have received,” Raymond James Division Director Kirk Bell said in an April 12 revocation letter to the university.
“To the extent that Mr. Gerami has or does provide you with official account statements from Raymond James, we do not believe the pricing of certain securities was accurate, and that those statements do not reflect the actual value of Mr. Gerami’s account as of the statement period.”
The letter was one of more than 100 email files shared with the Tallahassee Democrat Friday following a public records request that was submitted May 8 for all of FAMU’s email communication concerning Gregory Gerami.
Raymond James sent the letter to FAMU's former Vice President for University Advancement and Executive Director of the FAMU Foundation Shawnta Friday-Stroud as an email attachment on April 12, asking her to "please review the attached communication."
It came after Friday-Stroud, FAMU President Larry Robinson, Director of Development Audrey Simmons-Smith and others scheduled a Zoom call for April 1 with a Raymond James advisor. Gerami himself was listed as an optional attendee.
It is not clear who attended and what transpired at the meeting, but on April 15, the university acknowledged receipt of Raymond James' note.
When reached for comment Tuesday, Gerami said he was on vacation and had bad phone service.
A FAMU spokesperson was unable to provide additional information or clarification about the meeting or the financial service firm’s later revocation due to a pending investigation of the processes that led to the donation debacle.
Besides the letter, several email exchanges from the process of finalizing the $237 million gift were part of the public records request. Some other communication included:
An email warning FAMU of Gerami from Erich Horner, a major gifts officer with North Carolina State University’s athletics association Wolfpack Club.
Emails from Ron Overton, president of The Church International in Arlington, Texas, also raising alarm about him.
Emails with concerns from FAMU Board of Trustees members.
After eliciting excitement and pride, the major gift quickly gave rise to skepticism and frustration as FAMU alumni, key stakeholders and others questioned the university’s due diligence before accepting the now "ceased" gift from the little known CEO of Batterson Farms Corp.
Although Gerami confidently said “the money is in the bank” during the surprise announcement, he instead transferred 14 million shares of stock of indeterminate value that could be worth $300 million – or nothing, according to one FAMU Foundation board member.
Raymond James’ revocation came after it already produced official statements reflecting a value for Gerami’s account — which were not included in the records — followed by the verification letter that was issued to Gerami along with a copy of the letter, which was provided to the university.
Although the financial firm backed away from Gerami, the half dozen FAMU officials who knew about the major gift proposal decided to proceed with the partnership despite Google searches that revealed eyebrow-raising details about Gerami's background.
Here’s what else the FAMU email files revealed:
A university major gift officer’s warning: ‘tread cautiously’
The NC State official emailed Friday-Stroud May 6 — just two days after the gift was announced — when he noticed FAMU’s donation announcement on social media pages.
“I just wanted to say to tread cautiously,” Horner said. “I know of five schools now that this has happened to (myself included while I was at Ole Miss) and it always falls through.”
Horner’s mention of “Ole Miss” referred to the University of Mississippi, which is a public research institution in Lafayette County, Mississippi.
In addition, Gerami made headlines last year after he was identified as an anonymous donor behind a $95 million planned gift to Coastal Carolina University. But things went sour over the span of four months, according to reporting by the Myrtle Beach Sun-News.
The South Carolina-based university said in a press release at the time that it was "terminating its agreement with the donor, citing an unfulfilled early expectation of the arrangement."
The Democrat also acquired records from the University of Texas that showed Gerami and estate planning officials discussing a potential gift to the university in 2019.
But within a month, things were falling apart. In an email riddled with grammatical errors and devoid of punctuation, Gerami offered to get things back on track by connecting the university with his financial advisor. The university issued a terse reply.
"As I mentioned during our phone conversation a couple of weeks ago, additional information/personal visit with your financial advisors will not change the University's interest level in a gift," the UT employee wrote Gerami.
In the May 6 email to Friday-Stroud — who recently stepped down from the dual role amid the major gift controversy to remain full-time dean of FAMU's School of Business and Industry — Horner offered to further discuss the issue with Friday-Stroud.
“Maybe myself and the other four schools have been wrong and he has stroked a big check to your university,” Horner said.
“Hopefully I’m wrong though and if so, then congratulations! I just wanted to look out for my fellow collegiate counterparts.”
Church ministry leader warns university about Gerami, 'fabricated life'
In a May 10 email to FAMU President Larry Robinson, the church leader Overton said he had known Gerami ever since he was a child through a church that their families both attended
The ministry leader wrote that he “felt led” to reach out to Robinson after learning about Gerami’s supposed historic gift to the university.
“Gregory Gerami is unequivocally, without any doubt NOT the person he says he is,” Overton said in the email pointing to what he said was a "fabricated life."
Overton added that he has not communicated with Gerami in over three years but has “no hesitation stating that he most likely has very little money to his name, much less $237M to donate to anyone.”
“There's really no benefit to him that I can see, except to see his name in the headlines," he wrote of the donation announcement.
Regarding Gerami’s attempt to donate money to Coastal Carolina University in 2019, Overton said he sent similar emails to the institution as a warning before it walked back public announcements about what would have been a $95 million gift for the university.
Besides inconsistencies with university donations, Overton also pointed to a darker side in the Texas hemp farmer’s personal life. As previously reported by the Tallahassee Democrat, court records reveal Gerami was arrested on charges of family violence Jan. 18, 2022, in Tarrant County, Texas.
A judge granted Gerami’s second wife’s request for a divorce in 2021 when he did not show up for court.
The court found he had a history of domestic violence, and the judge issued a permanent injunction against Gerami from having any contact with their two children unless approved by his ex-wife.
In a May 16 email to Robinson amid the rise of skepticism from alumni and other individuals about the controversial gift, Overton added that FAMU got “bamboozled big time” and said he would be praying for the university.
“The amazing thing is he is so good at what he does, he has been able to convince major universities that he actually is worth multi-millions of dollars,” Overton said.
Praise quickly gives way to concern from FAMU Board of Trustees members
Following the major gift announcement, FAMU Board of Trustees Vice Chair Deveron Gibbons sent a May 5 email — the day after — to FAMU’s Chief Legal Officer Denise Wallace and others, including Robinson, Friday-Stroud and Chair Kristin Harper.
The email started off with Gibbons expressing his excitement.
“I am so excited about this phenomenal gift that the university has received,” Gibbons said in the email. “This is a real testament to all the hard work of many people. Great day for all Ratters everywhere.”
But the message quickly shifted to a series of questions about the donation’s vague upbringing.
Gibbons requested a copy of the gift agreement and any documents related to the donor agreement, along with information about the tools or aides that were used for background and due diligence on Gerami.
He also asked Wallace to send him anything that the university has to do or had to do to receive the gift that may or may not be in the agreement.
And he had one more request.
“Please let the board know when the donor can come and we can thank (Gerami) face to face,” Gibbons said at the end of the email. “I would personally like to thank this donor and the staff for their commitment to FAMU.”
Friday Stroud emailed Gibbons back on May 6, saying that a copy of the gift agreement or the related proposals could not be provided to anyone due to a non-disclosure agreement that was signed by the university.
But the agreement was later released to the Democrat and contains a detailed appendix that lays out the donation schedule over a ten year period and breaks down how the money would be spent across the university.
“For this donor, we did our due diligence in researching Mr. Gerami's background and discussing the findings,” Friday-Stroud said in the email response.
“Right now, Mr. Gerami is planning to come to homecoming. I will ask him if he will be willing to meet with the Board during that trip.”
Similar concerns came from trustee Natlie Figgers, who was appointed to the FAMU board by Gov. Ron DeSantis in March 2023.
After congratulating the university, she too asked about FAMU’s due diligence process and protocols for verifying donation commitments.
Figgers also asked for a copy of the NDA agreement, which prompted her to follow up on the request with concern regarding the lack of FAMU’s “responsiveness” to her inquiries.
"Please understand that my intention is not to antagonize or create conflict," Figgers wrote. "However, it is imperative for me to emphasize that if I do not receive the required information before the board meeting, I will be compelled to address this issue during the meeting."
"In addition, I will take all appropriate actions available to me to ensure that accountability is taken."
FAMU Board Chair's initial intentions for an investigation of the major gift; bill won't exceed $52,000
In a May 9 email that was sent hours after the FAMU Foundation Board of Directors’ emergency meeting that same evening regarding the controversial donation, the university’s Deputy General Counsel Iris Elijah shared Harper’s intentions to engage the firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney to investigate the dubious gift and the due diligence around it.
The communication came a week ahead of the university Board of Trustees’ special meeting that was held May 15 when the investigation was officially proposed and voted on. It also came ahead of a May 28 Audit and Compliance Committee meeting, where the selected firm was announced.
In addition, the email shows that the law firm would be engaged under the terms of an average $585 per hour rate.
Elijah noted how the $585 per hour rate “seems high” among other concerns. A final signed agreement with the firm was also included in the emails and indicated that the investigation would not exceed $52,000.
On top of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney’s assistance during the FAMU investigation, the Florida Board of Governors is now overseeing and monitoring the investigation under the board’s Office of the Inspector General.
Besides investigating the major gift and its inception, the investigation will also look at a detailed timeline of events and a review for compliance with policies, processes and financial controls.
Harper was on hand when the gift agreement was signed and was seen crying tears of joy when the "transformational" donation was announced before the graduating class. But two days afterward, she was peppering Robinson and Friday-Stroud with questions and distancing herself from the donation.
"During your briefing meetings, and for any meetings that have already occurred, please make it clear that I signed the agreement as a witness at the request of Mr. Gerami since I had no prior knowledge of the gift. I am not part of the NDA, nor was or am I privy to the terms of the donor agreement."
Contact Tarah Jean at [email protected] or follow her on X: @tarahjean_.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU emails about $237 million gift reveal revocation letter, warnings
