Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles are investigating whether leaders in the Black Lives Matter movement defrauded donors who contributed tens of millions of dollars during racial justice protests in 2020, it was reported Thursday.
Law enforcement officials have issued subpoenas and at least one search warrant in recent weeks as part of the Justice Department probe into the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation and other Black-led organizations that helped kick off the widespread movement, The Associated Press reported.
In a statement sent to City News Service, Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation denied it is being investigated.
“Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is not a target of any federal criminal investigation,” the organization said. “We remain committed to full transparency, accountability, and the responsible stewardship of resources dedicated to building a better future for Black communities.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles declined comment.
The AP reported that the 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 murder of Floyd at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer in 2020 sparked protests across the U.S. and around the world.
AP reported that much of the information for the article came from people who were not authorized to discuss the probe and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Critics of the nonprofit BLM foundation have previously accused organizers of not being transparent about how it was spending donations, according to AP, which reported that in 2022 foundation leaders said they used donations to purchase a $6 million Los Angeles-area property that includes a home with six bedrooms and bathrooms.
BLM leaders have denied wrongdoing and publicly released tax documents, according to the AP report. No prior investigations into the nonprofit’s finances have yielded proof of impropriety, the article states.
The story said leaders of the BLM foundation have received subpoenas.
The Black Lives Matter movement first emerged in 2013 after the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida. After the 2014 death of Michael Brown at the hands of police in Ferguson, Missouri, the slogan “Black lives matter” became a rallying cry, according to AP.
The AP article said leaders of the BLM foundation opened up about finances and organizational structure in 2022, revealing accountings of expenditures. The latest Form 990 filing shows the BLM foundation had $28 million in assets for the fiscal year ending June 2024, according to AP.