Federal prosecutors want Andrew Gillum, Sharon Lettman-Hicks tried together on corruption charges

Federal prosecutors are trying to block attempts by lawyers representing Andrew Gillum and Sharon Lettman-Hicks to secure separate trials for the pair on public corruption charges involving his 2018 bid for governor.

The former Tallahassee mayor and his co-defendant both asked for their own trials in motions filed last month. Gillum's lawyer said individual trials were necessary for Lettman-Hicks to testify on his client's behalf, while Lettman-Hicks' lawyers argued she wasn't involved in the FBI’s investigation into Gillum’s dealings with undercover agents.

Latest developments in the Andrew Gillum case:

• Andrew Gillum corruption case: Mysterious Individual B revealed; co-defendant seeks separate trial

• Andrew Gillum seeks separate trial, says Lettman-Hicks' testimony 'key to an acquittal'

• Torn from the Andrew Gillum indictment: Five key takeaways from the federal corruption case

But government lawyers, in recently filed motions, said the two took part in a “common scheme” over several years to fraudulently obtain money from a variety of organizations, including Gillum's own 2018 campaign for Florida governor, and funnel it to him through her firm, P&P Communications.

They wrote that in early 2017, as Gillum was ramping up his campaign, he faced "substantial personal expenses" after leaving a "lucrative" position with People for the American Way Foundation. Lettman-Hicks, his longtime friend and adviser, stepped in to help, giving him a job at P&P with a $10,000-a-month salary.

“However, the government’s investigation revealed that P&P was not generating enough income to pay this salary to Gillum, which resulted in the conduct in the indictment defrauding multiple parties to fund that salary,” the prosecution wrote.

A federal grand jury indicted Gillum and Lettman-Hicks in June on one count of conspiracy and 19 counts of wire fraud. Gillum was charged with an additional count of lying to the FBI about gifts he got from undercover agents during a 2016 excursion to New York City, including a now-infamous ticket to “Hamilton,” and P&P payments.

The wire-fraud charges involve financial transactions, including deposits to Gillum’s bank account, and related text messages and emails from June 2017 through December 2019.

Backstory: 'I got you': Texts, emails detail how Adam Corey, FBI arranged trips for Andrew Gillum

Read more: Testimony from brother of Andrew Gillum, others surfaces in ethics case

But prosecutors said there was an earlier "unsuccessful attempt” to use bribe money from undercover agents posing as developers to replace Gillum’s salary. They pointed to secretly recorded conversations in late 2016 between FBI agents and Individual B, whom the defense has identified as Gillum’s brother, Marcus Gillum.

'Wrapped up neat with a bow on it'

P&P came up by name not long after. During a meeting Nov. 30, 2016, in Nashville, Individual B told the agents about an upcoming meeting with "six attorneys that are going to be on the financial team" to determine "the best way to control the money," according to transcripts included in the government motion.

"Get it there without actually putting it there," Individual B told the agents.

One of the agents emphasized that “it’s a big deal for me” for the money to move through an entity separate from Gillum’s campaign, according to the transcripts.

“For that I may have to get even a little bit more creative so ... um ... to ensure you that ... it would never ... it would never come back,” Individual B said. “Because again that’s important to you and us cause obviously this is not a short term thing that we want to create, we want to generate long-term business.”

The agent mentioned the concept plan for Fallschase, one of three developments the FBI feigned interest in through their front company, Southern Pines Development. He said he would pay $25,000 if “all three of these are wrapped up neat with a bow on it." Individual B responded with an "OK."

During the conversation, the FBI agent asked Individual B what needed to be done to advance their development projects at the city without putting Gillum in "a hard situation." Individual B said he would meet with a campaign adviser "and then obviously meet with Andrew and figure out how we can make this happen ... and then I can tell you guys exactly what we'll be able to do."

Several months later, in January 2017, Individual B allegedly "upped the ask" to $75,000 — $25,000 for each of the three projects — and suggested routing the money through "another entity," the government said.

Marcus Gillum, asked by the Tallahassee Democrat in June whether he was Individual B, said he "had nothing to do with this.” However, Lettman-Hicks’ lawyers, Mutaqee Akbar and Robert Alex Morris of Tallahassee, identified Individual B as Marcus Gillum in their Oct. 14 motion.

Prosecutors wrote that “defendants who are indicted together are usually tried together" and that Lettman-Hicks' testimony was not essential for Gillum's defense. They also said a sworn affidavit from Lettman-Hicks — saying she and Gillum never talked about or agreed "to defraud anyone" — was "of dubious credibility."

Also: Sharon Lettman-Hicks suspends Florida House campaign amid federal corruption charges'

A 'timely and proper' indictment

The government also responded to complaints from Lettman-Hicks’ lawyers about the timing of her indictment. She and Gillum were charged June 7, a week after Lettman-Hicks filed to run for a Florida House seat, though the indictment wasn’t unsealed until June 22. At the time, several counts were nearing the statute of limitations.

“These allegations have no bearing on the issue of joinder and the government is at a loss to understand why they are included in (Lettman-Hicks’) motion,” prosecutors wrote. “However, the government would simply note that the indictment was timely filed within the legal statute of limitations, and that the government’s indictment ... was completely proper.”

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Prosecutors want single corruption trial for Gillum, Lettman-Hicks