TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Andrew Gillum, who narrowly lost to Ron DeSantis in the race for Florida governor four years ago, was indicted Wednesday on federal charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and making false statements during his time as Tallahassee mayor and campaign for governor.
Wearing a mask, and his hands and legs shackled to a chain around his waist, Gillum pleaded not guilty to all 21 counts in Tallahassee federal court later in the day. He agreed to a pretrial order laying out conditions and restrictions and was released from custody on his own recognizance about 30 minutes later.
Gillum, who Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden campaigned for when he ran for governor, exited the courthouse, quietly saying, “Hi. Hi. Hi.” When asked if he had any comment, he said, “No.”
Attorney Todd Yoder of Markus/Moss, a nationally known Miami criminal trial law firm, said Gillum is innocent and “we look forward to a unanimous not guilty verdict of the jury.”
Gillum had proclaimed his innocence in a statement sent out by his attorneys David Markus, Yoder’s boss, and Marc Elias, a high-powered Democratic Party elections lawyer, before the indictment was unsealed.
“The government got it wrong today,” Elias and Markus said in a joint statement.
The first Black candidate for governor in Florida history, Gillum won a surprise victory over former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, Miami Mayor Phil Levine, and others in a crowded Democratic Party primary. He lost by just 0.4%, or about 32,000 votes, to DeSantis.
The indictment comes five years after the FBI issued its first set of subpoenas to several public officials and business owners who did business with the city of Tallahassee. The investigation led to the convictions last year of former Tallahassee City Commissioner Scott Maddox, his business partner Paige Carter-Smith and developer J.T. Burnette.
But this indictment stemmed from a separate investigation into Gillum’s gubernatorial campaign PAC, called Forward Florida, as well as his jobs with a Massachusetts nonprofit and with Lettman-Hicks and her public relations firm.
Most of the charges have to do with him soliciting campaign contributions for favors, or diverting campaign funds for his own use.
Among the charges he faces, Gillum is accused of defrauding one contributor to his 2018 campaign, “Individual F,” of $150,000 of his $250,000 contribution, according to the indictment. The indictment alleges Gillum and Lettman-Hicks put that money into a separate 501(c)(4) organization and later filed fraudulent campaign reports to cover it up.
Orlando attorney John Morgan, who along with his firm gave Gillum’s campaign for governor more than $3 million in 2018, has long criticized him for how his campaign money was spent.
“At this point, nothing about him would surprise me,” Morgan said in an email Wednesday. “He kept my money and others. Millions. He didn’t spend it on the campaign and lost by a whisker. He destroyed the Democratic Party forever in Florida.”
Morgan said he had “no idea” who “Individual F” in the indictment was.
Gillum and Lettman-Hicks, a mentor of his since college, also were accused of soliciting $100,000 in campaign contributions from undercover FBI agents posing as developers if he looked favorably on their projects before the city.
The indictment alleges that they set up a scheme to defraud companies and individuals of thousands of dollars, including grants from nonprofit corporations. Lettman-Hicks then diverted the money to a third party and siphoned off a portion to give to Gillum for his own use “disguised as payroll payments,” the indictment said
His job with Lettman-Hicks was just a cover to make up for the salary he gave up when he left People for the American Way Foundation started by Norman Lear, the indictment said.
Lettman-Hicks pleaded not guilty to the 20 counts of conspiracy and wire fraud against her. Their trial is set for Aug. 16.
Other charges from his time as Tallahassee mayor involve many of the same allegations as the ethics violations he was accused of in 2018, including accepting a free hotel room, a boat trip around New York harbor and tickets to the hit Broadway musical “Hamilton” from undercover agents. He settled the ethics case for $5,000.
The FBI also paid $4,386 for a fundraiser for Gillum’s gubernatorial campaign at the home of developer Adam Corey, a friend of Gillum’s since college who volunteered on his mayoral campaign. Gillum was instrumental in getting Corey a lease and $2 million in community redevelopment agency tax dollars to build a restaurant.
Gillum lied to investigators about taking money or gifts from them, the indictment said.
“The evidence in this case is clear and will show that Mr. Gillum is innocent of all charges,” Elias and Markus wrote. “We look forward to putting this case to rest and giving Andrew and his family peace of mind once and for all.”
As part of that email, Gillum wrote in a statement, “I have spent the last 20 years of my life in public service and continue to fight for the people.”
“Every campaign I’ve run has been done with integrity.” Gillum added. “Make no mistake that this case is not legal, it is political. ... There’s been a target on my back ever since I was the mayor of Tallahassee. They found nothing then, and I have full confidence that my legal team will prove my innocence now.”
In 2020, Miami Beach police found Gillum in a hotel room with two other people and three small plastic bags containing suspected crystal meth. He entered a rehab facility shortly afterward, blaming his downfall on addiction and depression.
Democratic supporters, including Morgan, criticized Gillum for not spending $3 million of the $39 million his Forward Florida PAC raised for the governor’s race, but he promised to use that money to register people to vote and “turn Florida blue.”
Millions were spent on legal fees, consultants and crisis managers, records show.
He founded a nonprofit, Forward Florida Action, to increase Democratic voter turnout in the state, but questions were raised about how much was being raised and where the money went.
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