Businessman and longtime Liberty University Trustee and Executive Committee Chairman Harvey Gainey died on Sunday, November 28.

Gainey, 79, served on Liberty’s board for at least 20 years. He became chairman of the university’s powerful Executive Committee in 2016. That’s when PR guru Mark DeMoss resigned as trustee and executive committee chairman due to former Liberty President Jerry Falwell, Jr.’s endorsement of Donald Trump.

Gainey was the founder of the Gainey Corporation, which was sold at a bankruptcy auction in 2019 to Wayzata Capital. He also was an owner with the West Michigan Whitecaps and Northpointe Bank.

Since 2008, Gainey has been dogged by allegations that he illegally enriched himself and family members before declaring bankruptcy. A 2009 report compiled by creditors also found that Gainey submitted two apparently contradictory sets of personal financial records—one showing a positive net worth of $5.7 million and one showing a negative net worth of $5.5 million.

As reported this month in The Roys Report, Gainey’s nonprofit, the Gainey Foundation, received $109,000 from Liberty University over the past four years. Liberty’s bylaws state that the “chairman of the executive committee . . . shall have no contractual, employment, personal, familial, or financial interest in the institution.”

The Gainey Foundation operates Two Moose Ranch, a Christian camp in Montana that hosts annual retreats for Calvin University student athletes.

According to an obituary by Grand Rapids Press, Gainey was born in Nichols, Georgia, and is survived by his wife of 59 years, Annie Ereveene Gainey, two children, seven grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. 

Gainey was a member of Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

Liberty University has not yet released a statement regarding Gainey’s passing.