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Wanda Ford, former chief financial officer at Florida A&M University, is suing the university, claiming she was forced to resign after blowing the whistle on recurring deficits in the university’s athletics department, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.
Ford filed the lawsuit in August. Joining her in the suit were Tiffany Holmes, the university’s former controller and assistant vice president, and Ronica Mathis, former director of university budgets. Holmes and Mathis reported to Ford and were terminated in June 2019, after Ford flagged the deficits, the suit alleges.
A Florida A&M spokesperson told the Tallahassee Democrat that the university would not comment on pending litigation.
The lawsuit alleges that since 2013, the athletics department consistently overspent revenues that exceeded its allocations. It also alleges a conversation in which Florida A&M's Board of Trustees chairman accused Ford, Holmes and Mathis of “changing the numbers” and expressed concern over informing the board of another deficit.
Later, Ford’s division was blamed for allowing the deficit, the complaint said. Before Ford resigned, university president Larry Robinson said he would demote her, or “you know what the second option would be,” the suit alleges.
