BLM Leader Convicted of Fraud for Stealing Donated Money to Fund Lavish Lifestyle
By David Lindfield A Black Lives Matter (BLM) leader from Toledo, Ohio has been convicted of fraud charges after he was caught stealing donation money to fund his lavish lifestyle.
The BLM “activist,” Sir Maejor Page, was found guilty of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering.
Page, who is also known as Tyree Conyers-Page, was convicted by a jury after a six-day trial this week.
He was stealing money that was donated money to his BLM organization and using it for personal gain, according to the Northern District of Ohio U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Court documents and testimony cited by the U.S. Attorney’s Office report that 35-year-old Page created a 501(c)(3) Facebook page called Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta (BLMGA).
He later used it to defraud donors out of more than $450,000 after BLMGA’s tax-exempt status as a charity with the IRS was revoked.
Page created the Facebook page in 2016 and registered it as a domestic non-profit with the Georgia Secretary of State Corporations Division.
Facebook recognized BLMGA as a valid non-profit organization.
The Facebook page allowed users to make donations directly to BLMGA via the social media site.
In 2017, the IRS approved Page’s request granting BLMGA tax-exempt status under Section 503(c)(3) of the tax code.
However, the IRS dissolved the page’s tax-exempt status in 2019.
Despite this, Page continued to accept donations.
The BLM leader was “falsely portraying BLMGA to the public as a legitimate charity engaged in social justice work, when in fact, it was not,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Page, for example, falsely represented that the donations would be used to “fight for George Floyd” and the “movement.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said:
“Instead, Page used the money that individual donors gave to BLMGA not for social justice causes, but rather to buy items for his own personal use, such as a house and furniture.
“Page also committed money-laundering crimes when he bought these items with the donations that he fraudulently obtained.”
Despite not being active since September 2020, BLMGA currently boasts 62,000 Facebook followers.
Facebook does not appear to have taken action to remove the page, however, despite the fraud charges.
Page is a former actor who has appeared in small roles on TV shows such as “American Horror Story” and “Constantine.”
He dubbed himself “the world’s sexiest Albino model and actor” on his Vimeo account, a video-sharing platform, the Daily Mail reported.
Authorities say funds in the Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta Inc. bank account “ebbed and flowed” after he established the account in 2018, seeing highs exceeding $5,000 and lows of -$12.42.
In the summer of 2020, however, Page saw a donation boon, according to the FBI.
The social media account pulled in $36,493.80 in June, $370,933.69 in July, and $59,914.69 in August.
The increase in donations followed the death of career criminal George Floyd in Minneapolis in May of 2020.
The death of Floyd, who died of a fentanyl overdose while in police custody, sparked renewed calls from coast to coast to defund the police.
His death also triggered a wave of support, and cash donations, for the Black Lives Matter movement.
In the wake of Floyd’s death, BLM led widespread riots and looting in many cities.
The movement even swept the highest echelons of America, from corporate leaders to Hollywood icons to powerful sports figures pledging support to BLM and supporting the message that police departments should lose their funding.
Page capitalized on this movement by taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to spend on himself.
He claimed that none of the funds donated would be used for personal purchases and were given to “all movement-related” causes.
However, authorities found evidence showing a different story.
“In June, July, and August, Page repeatedly used a debit card linked to this same account to make purchases related to food, dining, entertainment, clothing, furniture, a home security system, tailored suits, and accessories,” the FBI said in the press release when Page was first arrested.
“The largest sum purchase made from the BLMGA bank account was to a title company on August 21, 2020, for the purchase of a residence and an adjacent vacant lot in Toledo, Ohio.
“The total purchase price for both properties was approximately $112,000.”
Page also went to great lengths to conceal his spending as he blew the money on indulgent items such as luxury watches, jewelry, lavish hotel rooms, clothing, and guns, which he frequently boasted about on social media while mocking those who couldn’t afford such extravagances.
In a statement, FBI Cleveland Special Agent in Charge Greg Nelsen said:
“Preying on the generosity of the public for personal gain is cold and calculated.
“The FBI and its white-collar crime division along with our federal, state, and local partners will continue to aggressively find and investigate criminals who believe they can deceive others through shady business practices.”
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