Florida A&M Pauses $237.75-M Donation Over Its Validity

Florida A&M University (FAMU) is putting a purported $237.75 million donation “on pause” after media reports and college board leaders raised concerns about the actual value of the stock gift and the details surrounding the donor’s previous donations, Victor Blackwell, Devon M. Sayers, Hyan de Freitas, and Kara Nelson reported for CNN.

The reversal from the fanfare last Saturday at FAMU’s commencement ceremony, when the announcement of the gift made headlines as one of the largest personal donations ever to a historically Black college or university, is stunning. I Photo: Florida A&M University Facebook

“A decision was made yesterday to put a pause on this activity—a hold, more or less, is the language that was used—pending some additional information that has come to my attention,” FAMU President Larry Robinson said during an emergency school board meeting.

The aforementioned was called after media reports and school leaders raised concerns about the legitimacy of the gift.

It’s a stunning reversal from the fanfare last Saturday at FAMU’s commencement ceremony, when the announcement of the gift made headlines as one of the largest personal donations ever to a historically Black college or university.

Gregory Gerami, the 30-year-old CEO of Texas hydroponic hemp farm company Batterson Farms Corp., presented the $237.75 million stock gift via an oversized ceremonial check to university administration members, including Robinson.

FAMU's president called the gift “breathtaking in its generosity and scope” via a press release on the day of the donation.

A report from Politico noted Batterson Farms Corp. is a small company, and that its private shares are unlikely to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.