In 2018, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum ran for governor against Ron DeSantis, a U.S. representative at the time. Gillum, a Democrat, lost by fewer than 34,000 votes, a margin of 0.4 percent in our nation’s third-largest state.

Five years later, Gillum is heading to trial after allegedly defrauding campaign donors. He faces a whopping 17 counts of wire fraud, in addition to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He’s also being charged with lying to the F.B.I., a felony.

Gillum’s legal team is set to appear in court Monday for jury selection, in a trial expected to last three weeks.

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Lying to the FBI carries a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, according to the lead prosecutor. Meanwhile, wire fraud can result in as many as 20 years, and a conspiracy sentence can result in another 20-year sentence.

If Gillum receives consecutive, maximum-length sentences for even just one count of each allegation, then he would spend 45 years in federal prison.

However, Gillum may be allowed to serve the sentences concurrently, instead of serving them consecutively. Plus, the former mayor isn’t guaranteed to receive the maximum sentence (or to be found guilty at all).

Gillum has pleaded not guilty, and he’s denied the charges, describing them as politically motivated. “This is our chance to show Andrew’s innocence, and we’re looking forward to it,” Gillum’s attorney David O. Markus reportedly said earlier this month.

Prosecutors have accused Gillum of funneling donations through third parties back to himself for personal use.

According to prosecutors, Gillum met with undercover FBI agents posing as developers while he was mayor of Tallahassee and during his campaign for governor. His associates sought donations from the agents, and suggested ways to provide money without listing them as political contributions, including paying for a fundraising dinner, according to the indictment.

Sharon Janet Lettman-Hicks, the owner of a communications company, is a co-defendant on the wire fraud charges for funneling money to Gillum in the form of “payroll payments” like paychecks and bonuses, U.S. Attorney Jason R. Coody said in a statement.

The prosecutors allege that Gillum committed the acts “between 2016 and 2019.”

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Gillum was seen as a rising star in Democratic politics even after losing the governor’s race. He even joined CNN as an analyst.

After his close victory in 2018, DeSantis became a fixture of national headlines, especially MSNBC’s negative coverage. Amid all the national attention, the once-obscure politician won re-election by 19 points and began hinting at a run for president.

Then, in March 2020, Gillum was found intoxicated and unconscious in a hotel room with two men, at least one of whom had a history of prostitution. Two days later he entered a rehabilitation center, and he addressed the controversy in a television interview.

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The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.