Local activist Sir Maejor Page, also known as Tyree Conyers-Page, was sentenced to prison time after creating a fake non-profit organization associated with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement to defraud donors and supporters of the cause to fund his shopping sprees.
Page was given 42 months of prison time for his crimes after being found guilty in April. He was charged with one count of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering, according to WTOL.
In 2020, FBI's National Threat Operations Center received a complaint alleging that Page was accessing and misusing funds intended for the BLM movement by posing as a leader of the movement. Subsequent investigation found that he had created a social media page titled Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta (BLMGA).
A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Ohio indicated that BLMGA had been listed as a non-profit organization capable of accepting donations on social media, with about 18,000 people donating to Page's fake charity through its Facebook account. It was also listed the same way on GoFundMe, and had built up a noticeable presence on the crowdfunding website.
An FBI news release demonstrates that Page opened a bank account titled "Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta, Inc.", on which he was the sole signatory. The account only made small transactions from April 2018 until May 2020, and its balance never exceeded $5,000.
Later, the account began receiving larger donations, with BLMGA's social media receiving $36,493.80 in June, $370,933.69 in July and $59,914.69 in August.
When users inquired about what the funds would be used for in private messages to his profiles, Page assured them that "none of the funds have been used for personal items. All movement related."
However, a debit card linked to BLMGA's bank account was used repeatedly by Page to make personal purchases, including food, dining, entertainment, clothing, furniture, a home security system, tailored suits and accessories.
Other purchases include a pistol and two rifles, for which Page transferred money from the BLMGA account into his personal account, and a $112,000 property including a house and a vacant lot right next to it.
In total, Page spent over $200,000 of donation funds on personal expenses. He was arrested in Sept. 2020.
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