Democrat Andrew Gillum  Charged With 21 Felonies In Connection To Campaign That Lost To DeSantis

In connection with his unsuccessful 2018 run for governor of Florida, which he lost to current Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, Democrat Andrew Gillum was charged on Wednesday with 21 felonies in federal court.

According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice, the indictment accuses Gillum and co-defendant Sharon Lettman-Hicks of conspiring to commit wire fraud in connection with a plot to funnel money back to Gillum for personal use.

“Andrew Demetric Gillum, 42, and Sharon Janet Lettman-Hicks, 53, both of Tallahassee, Florida, have been indicted on twenty-one counts by a federal grand jury. The Northern District of Florida’s US Attorney, Jason R. Coody, announced the indictment, according to the DOJ.

The press release from the DOJ added:

According to the indictment, between 2016 and 2019, defendants Gillum and Lettman-Hicks conspired to commit wire fraud by forcibly soliciting and receiving money from several organizations and individuals under the pretense that the money would be utilized for legal purposes. The Indictment also claims that the defendants employed intermediaries to transfer a portion of those cash to Lettman-Hicks’ company, who subsequently gave Gillum the money for his personal use while disguising it as payroll payments. 19 counts of wire fraud have been brought against both defendants. Additionally, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has accused Gillum of lying to its investigators.

The initial court appearance is set for Wednesday, June 22, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. in the Magistrate Judge’s Courtroom on the main floor of the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee.

The following are the maximum prison sentences for the offenses:

Making False Statements for Five Years

Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud for 20 Years

Wire fraud 20 years

NEW: 2018 Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum has been indicted on 21 counts connected to campaign wire fraud https://t.co/4YpRynxEIE

— Axios (@axios) June 22, 2022

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On Wednesday, Gillum and Lettman-Hicks are expected to appear in court in Tallahassee, Florida.

“I have conducted every campaign I have ever undertaken with integrity. Do not be misled; this issue is political, not legal, Gillum said in a statement on Wednesday.

Since I served as mayor of Tallahassee, there has been a bullseye on my back. They didn’t find anything back then, and I have every confidence that my defense team will now demonstrate my innocence, he continued.

“Today, the administration made a mistake. The statements were made by Marc Elias and David Markus, Mr. Gillum’s attorneys. “The evidence in this case is obvious and will establish that Mr. Gillum is innocent of all accusations,” they stated.

We anticipate concluding this case and providing Andrew and his family with lasting peace of mind, they continued.

In 2020, when investigators discovered Gillum in a hotel room with a male escort and what appeared to be crystal meth in little baggies, they made global headlines.

In the alarming photos, “prescription medications, empty beer bottles, and plastic baggies of suspected crystal meth are seen scattered among the rubbish and unclean bedding,” the Daily Mail stated. He was found naked and suffering from a drug overdose in room 1107 with two other guys, one of whom was a handsome 30-year-old male escort called Travis Dyson.