Florida A&M College alumni are questioning the legitimacy of a record-setting $237 million donation. FAMU acquired the beneficiant present from Gregory Gerami, founder and CEO of Batterson Farms Corp.
Gerami spent a number of days on the campus of his alma mater earlier than the college introduced the $237 million present from the little-known entrepreneur.
The $237 million is the largest single donation in FAMU’s historical past and the biggest particular person present ever for a traditionally Black school or college.
The cash was transferred in shares from the Issac Batterson seventh Household Belief.
Nevertheless, FAMU alumni questioned the supply of the donation.
There was a lot on-line chatter concerning the legitimacy of the donation, that FAMU Vice Chair Deveron Gibbons needed to challenge a press release.
Gibbons referred to as for an emergency assembly with the board to debate the historic donation.
Gerami is a 30-year-old hemp farmer whose firm employs “a number of full-time directors in a workforce of seven,000 contract staff.”
Nevertheless, the corporate has no staff listed on LinkedIn or another social media web site.
Based on the Tallahassee Democrat, Kimberly Abbott was listed as co-CEO and vice chair of Batterson Farms Corp. up to now.
However when requested if she labored at Batterson Farms, Abbott stated, “I by no means did.”
Abbott says she offered recommendation and heard guarantees from Gerami that by no means materialized, in accordance with the newspaper outlet.
“I’ve by no means acquired a dime from him or something,” she instructed the Democrat. “Only a slew of telephone calls. However that’s about it.”
Gerami instructed The Solar Information in a telephone name that he doesn’t perceive the criticism of his 9-figure donation to FAMU.
“The shares have been held by the college for over a month now, so I don’t know the place the confusion or the skepticism can be because it’s already in a monetary account with the college,” Gerami instructed the Democrat.
Gerami insists the whole lot is legit. However a $95 million donation he pledged to South Carolina’s Coastal Carolina College fell via in 2023.
The Solar Information discovered a GoFundMe that was created to lift cash for medical bills for his adopted mom and funeral bills for his adopted brother.
On the time of his multi-million donation to CCU, Gerami was dwelling along with his spouse at his adopted mom’s home.
The Arlington, Texas residence was appraised at $176,000, in accordance with on-line property information.
On Wednesday, a FAMU spokesperson invited the Democrat to fulfill with Gerami and officers on the college’s basis workplace. However on the final minute, a FAMU official stated the assembly was canceled as a result of “one thing got here up.”