TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WMBB) — A federal grand jury has returned a twenty-one-count indictment against the former Democrat candidate for Florida’s governor, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Andrew Gillum, 42, and Sharon Janet Lettman-Hicks, 53, both of Tallahassee, are charged with wire fraud, prosecutors said. Gillum narrowly lost to Governor Ron DeSantis in 2018.
“The Indictment alleges that between 2016 and 2019, defendants Gillum and Lettman-Hicks conspired to commit wire fraud, by unlawfully soliciting and obtaining funds from various entities and individuals through false and fraudulent promises and representations that the funds would be used for a legitimate purpose,” prosecutors wrote. “The indictment further alleges the defendants used third parties to divert a portion of those funds to a company owned by Lettman-Hicks, who then fraudulently provided the funds, disguised as payroll payments, to Gillum for his personal use.”
Both defendants are charged with 19 counts of wire fraud. Gillum is also charged with making false statements to agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Prosecutors said the defendants face 20 years for each wire fraud charge, another 20 years for each conspiracy to commit wire fraud charge, and five years for the charge of making false statements.