Texas hemp farmer Gregory Gerami’s $237 million stock donation to Florida A&M University wasn’t worth the paper the larger-than-life check was written on, an investigative report released earlier this week has found.
The 176-page report labeled the headline-grabbing gift as “fraudulent,” substantiating months of doubt.
School officials failed in vetting what at first glance was purported to be the biggest donation to a historically black college or university, with the donation debacle exposing “a fundamental misunderstanding of the complexities associated with private stock donations,” according to the report, written by Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, the law firm hired to look into the matter.
FAMU put the donation on pause in May amid reports and college board letters raising red flags about the actual value of the stock gift and as details surrounding Gerami’s prior donations surfaced, CBS News Miami previously reported. The move marked a stunning reversal from the fanfare given Gerami, the 30-year-old CEO of Texas company Batterson Farms Corp., at FAMU’s commencement ceremony.
The joy gave way to doubt after Politico reported Batterson to be a relatively small company, noting that its private shares were unlikely to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
“Gift” revealed at graduation ceremony
The donation was “invalidated” 10 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 Monday’s report. When the company terminated Gerami’s contract on May 14, McLaughlin said, any stock certificates in FAMU Foundation’s possession were canceled.
Millions earmarked for scholarships, athletics facilities, the nursing school and a student business incubator will not be realized. Meanwhile, FAMU faces harm to its reputation, and could see fewer contributions from previous donors who assumed the university’s financial windfall made additional gifts unnecessary, according to the report.
Gerami, who founded Batterson Farms in 2021, did not immediately respond to a call requesting comment. He has previously maintained to the Associated Press that the full donation would be completed.
In 2020, a deal involving a donor later identified as Gerami also unraveled. South Carolina’s Coastal Carolina University had touted a $95 million donation from an anonymous donor who backed out months later. The Myrtle Beach Sun News identified Gerami and noted, among other things, that he alleged racism from CCU officials — an allegation they denied.
