After making a deal with Florida prosecutors, Florida A&M University athletic director Angela Suggs may avoid trial for her pending grand theft and fraud charges.
In June, Suggs was arrested on charges of grand theft, scheme to defraud, and four other misdemeanor counts. As reported by HBCU GameDay, Suggs was accused of misusing a credit card from her former employer, the Florida Sports Foundation, following a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation. Allegedly, Suggs accumulated almost $24,000 in charges and failed to repay the funds or paid them late. When the incident first occurred, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement released a statement giving further details about the incident.
“The investigation began in November 2024 after FDLE received a criminal referral from the Florida Department of Commerce’s Inspector General with an audit of Suggs’ business credit card purchases and corresponding travel reimbursements,” the statement read. “The investigation revealed Suggs misused her FSF-issued credit card to make wire transfers and cash withdrawals and personal purchases at casinos during business trips, totaling more than $24,000.
Based on records filed with the State’s Attorney’s Office, as a part of a deferred prosecution agreement, Suggs will be enrolled in a pretrial intervention program. All charges against her will be dismissed if she follows the conditions of the program for two years.
The conditions of this agreement include mandatory gambling addiction treatment and consistent participation in the treatment program and support group. Suggs is now banned from holding any position that could provide her access to employer funds or a credit line for personal use. Following her arrest, Suggs was placed on administrative leave by Florida A&M. Suggs was hired as athletic director back in September 2024, replacing then-athletic director Tiffani-Dawn Sykes. She has since returned to work as athletic director at the university, but it is still unclear if her new job restrictions apply to her current position.
In addition to the conditions of her new agreement, Suggs must also pay the Florida Sports Foundation $649.98 in restitution. While Suggs repaid some of the charges, others, such as business lunches, which were revealed to be personal, were not repaid.
During her absence, deputy directors of athletics Travis Glasgow and Brittney Johnson ran athletic operations.
