By: Nicholas Huang

In 2018, Tallahassee’s mayor Andrew Gillum lost the governor race to Ron Desantis. Gillum could in fact have been Florida’s first black governor, but his personal struggles, such as alcoholism, impeded his political success. Now, Gillum has been charged with 19 cases of fraud and misuse of funds as mayor. Gillum’s confidante, Sharon Lettman-Hicks was also charged with disguising illegal payments to Mr. Gillum. When Gillum has donated 250,000 dollars, 60,000 went to Lettman-Hicks’s company and 20,000 went to Gillum.

Despite all the accusations, Gillum says that all of his political campaigns were done legally. He also believes that the accusation is an attack from his political opponents. “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.”

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/22/us/andrew-gillum-conspiracy-wire-fraud.html