‘It was magical.’ FAMU grads describe $237M commencement gift, later called ‘fraudulent’
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Gregory Gerami
Gregory Gerami’s $237 million donation to Florida A&M University was fake, investigators say. Here’s the story behind how he deceived the Florida HBCU, South Carolina’s Coastal Carolina University and others.
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Jordan Forbes could finally breathe after the toughest semester of her academic career. The first-generation college student had taken on two extra courses to ensure she could graduate in three years, and with her entire family traveling to Tallahassee, she was excited to show her younger siblings and cousins what was possible.
Attending Florida A&M University costs in-state students like Forbes on average about $24,000 annually, including tuition, books, room and board, federal education records show.
“To be a role model within my family and to be the first to do it, it can be very daunting at times and just feel like a lot of pressure for sure,” she said, “but honestly, to be the first means everybody can follow after you and look up to you. It was just really special, and it meant a lot for me.”
Forbes had no idea the special day for her and other graduates would turn out to be a historic one for their soon-to-be alma mater thanks to Gregory Gerami, their commencement speaker. She briefly thought the relatively unknown Texas hemp farmer might clear her class’ college debt when he mentioned a surprise announcement. But it turned out to be a giant check that’s since tarnished the reputation of the university they paid big money to attend.
Unknown commencement speaker
Alexis Rejouis strode across the gymnasium floor, briefly getting entangled with some business major students before finding her chair to the left of the stage, just a few rows from the front. She began scanning the venom green and fang orange seats, quickly spotting most of her family, then noticing her brothers, who must’ve gotten there later, on the other side of the arena. She couldn’t stop smiling all day, feeling pride in not just herself, but her classmates she’d worked so hard beside for years to get to this point.
“We call ourselves the FAMU-ly, and I feel like that really is the energy of the school,” she said. “Everyone really is family.”
A tangible buzz swept through many within the graduating class, awaiting their moment to walk across the stage, as they learned rapper Trick Daddy was in attendance to see his son graduate.
Rejouis chuckled as her friend zoomed in on her cell phone camera to get a video of the celebrity, distracting the group from university President Larry Robinson introducing their commencement speaker.
As the slender man with his orange collar poking above his black robe approached the podium, a white face mask covering his mouth but pulled below his nose, Rejouis recalled Googling this man’s name a week or so earlier.
She and her friends had eagerly anticipated the school’s announcement for who would be speaking at their graduation ceremony, knowing other HBCUs had made big splashes in recent years — Morehouse College had already announced President Joe Biden as their speaker.
When Florida A&M posted his name on their website, none of her friends had heard of Gregory Gerami, there was hardly any information available about him online and his photo in the school’s press release sort of looked like a criminal mugshot.
“We all thought it was a joke,” Rejouis said. “Like no, it isn’t this person.”
Historic announcement
Also distracted by the whispers surrounding Trick Daddy’s attendance, Forbes drifted in and out of paying attention to Gerami’s speech about overcoming childhood disabilities and living in foster care on his way to becoming a hemp farming business mogul. But her ears perked up when someone mentioned the commencement speaker had a surprise announcement.
Maybe he’ll pay off remaining debts for graduating students or something like that, Forbes thought.
As Charlie Wilson’s “I’m Blessed” blared over the speakers, shock and gasps filtered through the audience as each attendee ensured they were reading the giant check brought onto the stage correctly.
“Two hundred thirty seven million dollars!,” Gerami exclaimed into the mic to reassure those in disbelief of the number, briefly pausing to allow the cheers to wash over him. “And by the way, the money is in the bank.”
Cheers turned to singing, dancing and prayers to God as if the Al Lawson Center had turned into church with President Robinson explaining that this gift was more than double the school’s current endowment.
“It was magical,” Rejouis said.
With the excitement finally dwindling, Forbes’ phone started buzzing incessantly, all text messages in her family’s group chat wondering, “Who is this man?” and “How did he get all this money?” He’s not worth all that, her uncle wrote after looking him up online.
Donation falls apart
That skepticism quickly engulfed the whole FAMU and HBCU communities in the days that followed. An investigation would deem the gift fraudulent months later.
The spectacle surrounding Gerami definitely overshadowed their graduation day, Rejouis said.
“When I got back together with my friends at the end of the night and we went out, we were like FAMU’s rich now!,” she recalled, adding that she’s now often the butt of her family’s jokes when discussing their alma maters.
“If we’re all trying to be funny, they’re always like, ‘Well at least my school didn’t get scammed by a fake check.’ … I try to avoid it, but somehow, some way it will find me.”
Forbes believes she’ll probably always associate the fraudulent check with her big day, but it didn’t prevent her from having a great time, she said.
“It’ll definitely be more so, ‘Hey bro, do you remember what happened?’ Just referring back to it as a joke,” she said.
Rejouis hopes she’ll be more likely to remember the other special attendee.
“Everybody at our graduation would prefer to think about and will think about Trick Daddy because it was just hilarious to see that (he) was there,” she said.
This story was originally published November 15, 2024 at 5:00 AM with the headline "‘It was magical.’ FAMU grads describe $237M commencement gift, later called ‘fraudulent’."
