A Florida college that obtained a $238 million “reward” from a Texas hemp entrepreneur doubtless gained’t money in on the pledge, college officers have indicated.
The donation to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College (FAMU), which was introduced with fanfare in Could, seems to have been a stunt for public relations by Gregory Gerami of Texas-based Batterson Farms Corp., who the varsity initially described as a “champion of sustainable agriculture and biodegradable hemp merchandise.”
College directors now say the reward, within the type of “personal illiquid” shares in a Gerami entity, has been placed on maintain after they found there was no unbiased evaluate of its worth or any belongings underlying it.
College official resigns
The varsity’s vice chairman for College Development and government director of the FAMU Basis, Shawnta Friday-Stroud, who managed the 10-year pledge supply, resigned from these positions amid the controversy, however will stay dean of the college’s College of Enterprise & Business.
From left: Shawnta Friday-Stroud, who has now stepped down as Vice President for College Development and Govt Director of the FAMU Basis; Batterson Farms Corp CEO Gregory Gerami; and FAMU President Larry Robinson. (Photograph: FAMU)
Later investigation discovered that Gerami was tied to an earlier $95 million pledge to Coastal Carolina College, a deal that finally collapsed, in response to the Myrtle Seaside Solar Information.
The reward to FAMU was introduced at this 12 months’s graduation on the college, one of many top-ranked traditionally black schools and universities within the nation. Current for the ceremony, Gerami instructed the gathering “The cash is within the financial institution.”
In an unique assertion saying the pledge, FAMU mentioned Gerami deposited 14 million shares into the college’s account in April, figuring out them as a present from the Issac Batterson Household seventh Belief. At a press convention hosted by FAMU after the reward announcement, Gerami declined to reply questions on his internet price or to offer particular figures for his enterprise.
Doubtful claims
Gerami has touted himself as “the youngest African American producer and seed vendor” in Texas. Data present that his firm held a state producer’s license as of December 2023.
He claimed Batterson Farms has workplaces in San Antonio and Van Horn, Texas, a city of two,000 folks about 120 miles east of El Paso. Texas Secretary of State information record a small, single-story residence in suburban San Antonio as the corporate’s deal with, though Gerami claimed Batterson Farms employs 7,000 staff.
Final 12 months, Batterson Farms introduced it will construct the most important business hydroponic hemp facility in West Texas metropolis of Muleshoe, however officers there say nothing has come of the mission.
