Indiana attorney general says BLM’s ‘house of cards’ starting to fall amid financial questions

The Indiana attorney general slammed Black Lives Matter as a falling ‘house of cards’ as the charity the shutdown all of its fundraising websites late Wednesday afternoon.

The move comes as BLM was forbidden to collect donations in California and Washington due to its ‘lack of financial transparency,’ but reportedly continued to do so.

A Washington man confirmed to the Washington Examiner that he was able to donate $1 to the group on Monday and a California reporter was able to make a $1 donation Wednesday.

Slamming the activist group, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita compared BLM to an ‘illegal enterprise’ following a typical pattern of financial scheming.

‘It appears that the house of cards may be falling, and this happens eventually with nearly every scam, scheme, or illegal enterprise,’ Rokita, a Republican, told the newspaper. 

‘I see patterns that scams kind of universally take: failure to provide board members, failure to provide even executive directors, failure to make your filings available. It all leads to suspicion.’ 

Although Rokita would not confirm if Indiana is investigating the charity, he noted reports on the organization’s undisclosed finances ‘certainly cause us to be concerned’.

The attorney general’s remarks followed a letter from California Department of Justice threatening that BLM leaders could be held personally liable if they fail to disclose financial records about the charity’s $60 million in donations within the next 60 days. 

The warning follows an order from Washington state instructing BLM to ‘immediately cease’ fundraising in the state due to its ‘lack of financial transparency’. 

‘BLMGNF is prohibited from soliciting donations so long as its status is listed as delinquent,’ the California Department of Justice told the newspaper.  The charity could face fines upwards of $2,000 for each contribution received while being out of compliance.  

Insider also allege BLM’s charity registration is out of compliance in Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina and Virginia. 

In a letter dated Monday, California AG Rob Bonta accused the organization of failing to submit its annual financial reports and alleged it was in delinquent status. 

‘An organization that is delinquent, suspended or revoked is not in good standing and is prohibited from engaging in conduct for which registration is required, including soliciting or disbursing charitable funds,’ the letter reads.

The DOJ requested a copy of BLM’s annual registration renewal fee report and its 2020 IRS tax forms within two months time. 

If the organization fails to submit these documents, its charity exemption status will be revoked. It could also face fines for ‘each month or partial month for which the report(s) are delinquent.’

The letter, which was obtained by the Washington Examiner, threatened that ‘directors, trustees, officers and return preparers’ would be ‘personally liable’ for ‘all penalties, interest and other costs incurred to restore exempt status’. 

The DOJ notes that ‘charitable assets cannot be used to pay these avoidable costs’.

The notice comes just days after it was revealed that BLM has not had anyone in charge of its finances since co-founder Patrisse Cullors resigned last May.  

It is not clear who is currently in charge of the activist group after all three of its founding members – Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi – left the organization. 

Cullors, 38, stepped down as executive director of the Black Lives Matter Global Network (BLMGN) in 2021 amid scrutiny of her $3.2 million property empire. 

The scrutiny into the charity’s finances also comes after it was reported that the group transferred $6.3 million to Cullors’ spouse, Janaya Khan, and other Canadian activists to purchase a mansion in Toronto in 2001.  

In February 2021, BLM reported it closed out the previous year with $60 million in donations, however the charity has not had anyone in charge of its finances since co-founder Patrisse Cullors resigned last May.

BLM’s most recent tax filing, from 2019, provided an address in Los Angeles that does not exist, and the two remaining BLM directors identified by The Washington Examiner were not able to assist – with one even scrubbing BLM associations from his social media after he was contacted by the paper. 

They are yet to file a 2020 return, a Form 990, as required – which could see BLM fined by the IRS. 

Laurie Styron, executive director of CharityWatch, said the findings were deeply troubling, and said they should have filed their 2020 form by now. 

‘Like a giant ghost ship full of treasure drifting in the night with no captain, no discernible crew, and no clear direction,’ she said.

Paul Kamenar, an attorney with the National Legal and Policy Center – a conservative watchdog group – added that a full audit was needed, describing the situation as ‘grossly irregular’.

He is reportedly preparing to file a complaint against the charity.

‘The National Legal and Policy Center will be filing a formal complaint with the Attorneys General of Washington and California to impose the maximum penalties on BLMGNF for their flagrant and repeated violations of the charity disclosure laws in those states and it seems in many others,’ Kamenar confirmed Tuesday.  

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Experts allege the problem began in earnest in May 2021, when Cullors stepped down as director of BLMGN, the national body representing all the individual local chapters. 

Cullors co-founded BLM in July 2013, after a Florida jury acquitted George Zimmerman in the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. 

Alicia Garza, an Oakland activist, posted what she called a love letter to black people on Facebook, writing, ‘Our lives matter.’ Cullors, a friend of Garza, replied with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter.

New York activist Opal Tometi then used the words while building a digital network of community organizers and antiracism activists. 

Garza and Tometi are no longer affiliated with the network, and Cullors was its figurehead and leader throughout the George Floyd protests – which saw huge donations flood in.

The organization’s finances had been managed by a group called Thousand Currents, which says it has a ‘mission of supporting grassroots movements pushing for a more just and equitable world.’ 

In the summer of 2020, leaders sought nonprofit status with the IRS, which was granted in December 2020 – allowing the organization to receive tax-deductible donations directly.  The designation requires the foundation to file public 990 forms, revealing details of its organizational structure, employee compensation, programming and expenses. 

In September 2020, Cullors signed documents with Thousand Currents transferring $66.5 million into BLM’s accounts. 

In February 2021, Black Lives Matter confirmed it took in $90 million throughout 2020, distributed to their partner organizations, and had $60 million remaining in its accounts. 

In its report, a snapshot of which was shared with AP, the BLM foundation said individual donations via its main fundraising platform averaged at $30.76 each. More than 10 percent of the donations were recurring. 

The report does not state who gave the money in 2020, and leaders declined to name prominent donors. 

Expenses were approximately $8.4 million — that includes staffing, operating and administrative costs, along with activities such as civic engagement, rapid response and crisis intervention. 

BLM said at the time that they were sharing the details in a bid to be more transparent – admitting that their structure and finances had previously been opaque.

But two months later, in April 2021, reports began emerging – provided by the National Legal and Policy Center – which showed Cullors had amassed a $3.2 million property empire. 

Cullors owned four properties – three in the Los Angeles area and one outside of Atlanta – the researchers found.

Many within BLM turned against Cullors, questioning where she had accumulated the money. Cullors has written two books, has a deal with YouTube, and signed a production deal with Warner Bros. in 2020 to develop programming ‘for children, young adults and families.’ 

However, amid the furor she stood down and announced that two people were taking over as executive directors – Makani Themba and Monifa Bandele.

Yet Themba and Bandele in September said that they had never taken up the roles, following disagreements with leadership.

‘Although a media advisory was released indicating that we were tapped to play the role of senior co-executives at BLMGN, we were not able to come to an agreement with the acting Leadership Council about our scope of work and authority,’ they said in a statement.

‘As a result, we did not have the opportunity to serve in this capacity.’

Themba and Bandele said they did not know who was now running BLM, as their discussions never progressed.

Two other people remained on the board, after Cullors’ departure – Shalomyah Bowers and Raymond Howard, according to undated documents obtained by The Washington Examiner. 

Bowers served as the treasurer for multiple activist organizations run by Cullors, The Washington Examiner reported, including BLM PAC and a Los Angeles-based jail reform group that paid Cullors $20,000 a month and spent nearly $26,000 on ‘meetings’ at a luxury Malibu beach resort in 2019.

Bowers has not commented on the current status of the $60 million in the BLM coffers.

Howard also refused to comment when asked by the paper, and has since updated his LinkedIn page to remove references to his work with ‘an international social justice organization’.

Meanwhile, Cullors has been tied to even more charities whose finances raise ‘red flags’ after the organization donated hundreds of thousands to the nonprofits which then made payments to Cullors and her business partners, according to a new report on the organization’s spending.  

One of the groups, Reform LA Jails that Cullors founded, had received $1.4 million, of which $205,000 went to the consulting firm owned by Cullors and her spouse, Janaya Khan, New York Magazine reported.  

Reform LA Jails then gave $270,000 to Christman Bowers, treasurer of the Black Lives Matter PAC; $211,000 to Asha Bandelle, a friend of Cullors’ who co-wrote her memoir; and another $86,000 to Trap Heals LLC, an entertainment, clothing and consulting company started by Damon Turner, the father of Cullors’ child.

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