Senior leaders of Black Lives Matter are under investigation for allegedly misusing up to $90 million in donations, according to a bombshell new report first reported by the Associated Press (AP).
Federal prosecutors are investigating whether senior leaders of the Black Lives Matter organization defrauded donors who contributed tens of millions of dollars during the 2020 protests, this according to two sources familiar with the probe who spoke with Fox News.
The AP first reported that the Justice Department’s ongoing inquiry is focused on the foundation’s handling of donations collected in the wake of the George Floyd killing, when the group saw a surge of more than $90 million in contributions.
The probe is being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California in Los Angeles, AP sources said.
Investigators have issued subpoenas and executed at least one search warrant in recent weeks as they examine whether foundation leaders or related organizations improperly managed charitable funds.
The investigation into the defrauding of donations actually started in the early days of the Biden administration as the inquiry extends to other Black-led advocacy groups that gained prominence during the 2020 nationwide demonstrations.
However, this is not the first time leaders of Black Lives Matter have come under fire for alleged mishandling of donations and funds.
In 2022, it was reported that one of the group’s co-founders, Patrisse Cullors, had been involved in the purchase of several high-end properties, allegedly with funds donated to the Black Lives Matter organization.
According to reports, Cullors may have spent as much as $12 million on properties, including a 10,000 square foot property in Toronto, a luxury condo in the Bahamas and a $6 million mansion in Los Angeles.
Cullors stepped down from the organization after her real estate buying spree, according to The New York Post.
The foundation’s latest public federal tax filings show it had $28 million in assets as of the end of June 2024.
In 2022, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita sued the BLM foundation for failing to comply with a state investigation into the organization’s finances.
However, the lawsuit was dismissed after the BLM foundation produced the documents Rokita sought and charges against the group’s leaders were never filed in Indiana or anywhere else
The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation said in a statement to the AP that it “is not a target of any federal criminal investigation” and remains committed to transparency and accountability.