Federal prosecutors have dropped two wire fraud charges involving donations to former Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum’s Forward Florida political committee. However, Gillum and his political associate Sharon Lettman-Hicks still face trial on 19 charges, including fraud and obtaining money and property under false pretenses during Gillum’s gubernatorial campaign.
According to newly filed court documents, Gillum and Lettman-Hicks allegedly obtained a $50,000 grant intended for the Campaign to Defend Legal Solutions and redirected funds intended for get-out-the-vote efforts into Gillum’s personal account. The indictment suggests that Gillum made false statements and representations to the FBI during the investigation and was offered various gifts, including a boat tour of New York Harbor, tickets to Hamilton on Broadway, and a hotel room in New York, all covered by Southern Pines.
Andrew Gillum, who was once seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party, is facing serious charges related to wire fraud and soliciting funds through fraudulent means. The new court filings shed more light on an FBI sting during Gillum’s time as Tallahassee mayor, in which he allegedly discussed ways to make a $100,000 campaign donation appear anonymous.
While prosecutors have dropped two charges, the trial on the remaining charges is still set to take place. Gillum and Lettman-Hicks continue to deny any wrongdoing and are preparing to fight the charges against them in court.
According to the indictment, Lettman-Hicks, who was the CEO of the National Black Justice Center, diverted $50,000 into cashier’s checks and deposited them into P&P accounts, which were then used to pay Gillum.
One of the biggest scandals of Gillum’s gubernatorial campaign involved the misuse of funds during the final days leading up to the election. Although Gillum was ahead in the polls by around 5% on Election Day, he lost to DeSantis by a margin of fewer than 33,000 votes out of over 8 million cast.
The communications between Gillum and the organizations providing funding discussed how the money would be allocated to his Forward Florida committee, some of which would be managed by Lettman-Hicks. Prosecutors allege that false reports were sent to these organizations regarding the usage of these funds.
In November, the indictment alleges that Gillum directed $130,000 to be managed by Lettman-Hicks, intended to activate voters during the final days of the election cycle. Gillum even mentioned this in an email to campaign staffers on November 7, 2018, just two days before the election. However, $60,000 of that money was transferred to P&P, and the indictment claims that $30,000 was wired to Gillum in the form of six $5,000 deposits as an “end of year bonus.”
The new Indictment only includes charges related to four of those six payments. LF