Former Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum was charged with conspiracy and fraud related to his time as mayor of Tallahassee, The New York Times reports.
Gillum surrendered to authorities on Wednesday after he and an associate were charged with conspiracy, lying to the FBI, and 19 counts of fraud.
Gillum pleaded not guilty on Wednesday while shackled in court.
Authorities also charged Sharon Lettman-Hicks, a longtime associate.
Lettman-Hicks is running for a State House seat in Florida.
Both pleaded not guilty.
Charges:
Gillum and two associates solicited campaign contributions from undercover FBI agents for Gillum’s PAC, according to the indictment.
The associates vowed to funnel the funds through Littman-Hick’s company in exchange for “unencumbered government contracts.”
Gillum told an undercover agent he “looked favorably” on the agent’s proposed development plans.
The indictment also says Gillum “falsely represented” to the FBI that the agents posing as developers never offered him anything and that he stopped communicating with them.
The indictment alleges the pair later sought large donations from political organizations and campaign donors that were funneled to Gillum’s PAC.
Gillum defends:
Gillum pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.
He said in a statement he ran all of his campaigns “with integrity.”
“Make no mistake that this case is not legal, it is political,” he said. “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.”
