Andrew Gillum, the former mayor of Tallahassee and the Democratic nominee for Florida’s governor in 2018, has been indicted by federal investigators on allegations of fraud. The charges stem from his gubernatorial run that he lost to incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis.

On Wednesday, Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, detailed how Gillum, along with an associate, Sharon Janet Lettman-Hicks, were being charged for a three-year scheme that they say fraudulently obtained money from a variety of donors.

The exact amount of money obtained by the two was not included in Cooley’s statement, but it is alleged that they obtained them through false and fraudulent promises and representations that the funds would be used for a legitimate purpose. It says they then used third parties to divert a portion of these funds to Gillum personally by disguising them as payroll payments.

Gillum and Lettman-Hicks are being charged with 19 counts of wire fraud on top of charges of conspiracy and making false statements to the FBI.

The former candidate was quick to issue a statement denying the allegations against him. In it, Gillum pointed to what he said was his two decades of public service, asserting that every campaign he ever engaged in was done with integrity. He went on to suggest that the case was less about the law and more about politics.

"Make no mistake that this case is not legal, it is political," Gillum said in his statement. "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."

Gillum appeared to be referring to a pair of federal corruption investigations into his conduct as mayor.

In 2014, Gillum was investigated by the FBI for hiring a private equity investor as his treasurer. The individual, Adam Corey, was an investor in a local restaurant that went on to receive taxpayer money for a development project. Gillum was not charged in the case and cut ties with Corey.

Three years later, Gillum was caught up in a second FBI investigation into corruption in Tallahassee. As part of an investigation into a Florida redevelopment agency, Gillum received tickets from his brother to see the play Hamilton in New York City, tickets that were provided by an undercover FBI agent.

Gillum was not accused of wrongdoing by the FBI or federal prosecutors, but the investigation cast its shadow over him as he ran for Florida’s governor in 2018.

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