An Atlanta-based ac-tivist has been arre-sted for spending more than $200,000 in donations intended for the Bla-ck Lives Matter movement to purchase himself a home, tailored suits, and g*ns.
Sir Maejor Page, 32, also known as Tyree Conyers-Page, was arr-ested Friday in Toledo, Ohio, and fe-derally cha-rged with wire fra-ud and two counts of money laundering. The investigation is ongoing.
He created social media and GoFundMe pages under the name of Bl-ack Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta (BLMGA), cla!ming it was a non-profit, according to an FBI news release.
His page was a spl!nter group that was never recognized or aff!liated with the official Atlanta Bla-ck Lives Matter organization. A bank account was set up for BLMGA in 2018 with Page as the sole signatory.
His Facebook BLMGA page was registered with Facebook as a non-profit even though his organization itself lost its tax-exempt status in 2019, as per 13WMAZ. From April 2018 and May 2020, the account never exceeded $5,000 until June 2020 with the spread of the Bl-ack Lives Matter movement and national prote-sts decr-ying the police k!lling of Flo-yd in May.
In June the BLMGA page received $36,493.80 in donations. In July it received $370,933.69 and $59,914.69 in August.The money was transferred from the social media account to BLMGA’s bank account. At the time of accepting donations Page privately responded to inquiring social media users that the donations would be used to f!ght for Fl-oyd and none of ‘the funds have been used for personal items. All movement-related’, as per the FBI.
However, Page used a debit card tied to the bank account to purchase tailored suits, other clothing, furniture, a home security system, and dining and entertainment purchases throughout June, July, and August. On August 21 Page used $112,000 from the account to purchase a home and adjacent vac-ant lot in Toledo, the FBI said.
He so-calling tried to conce-al the purchase in a non-disclosure agreement stating the transaction was entered ‘by and between Hi Frequency Ohio via Sir Maejor Page’ and the seller’s agent, the FBI stated. In September Page transferred money from the BLMGA account to his personal bank account to purchase a p!stol and two other g*ns.
‘Numerous videos and Livestream videos were posted to Page’s personal social media pages showing himself in what appeared to be newly purchased clothing, hotel rooms and office space in Atlanta,’ the FBI said in a release.’Several audio statements are made by Page in the videos bo-asting about the money he has, his tailored suits, his nice cu-fflinks and “$150 dollar ties,”‘ the FBI added.
Overall officials said he squa-ndered more than $200,000 in donations on person items ‘with no identifiable purchase or expe-nditure for social or racial justice.’ An investigation was launched after authorities received a complaint that Page was fra*dulently using the account to raise money for himself, officials said.On Friday Toledo Police and the FBI raided Page’s home and were seen removing furniture from inside.
Following the sca-ndal, GoFundMe ba-nned Page from the platform and said all BLMGA associated pages were removed.’GoFundMe has taken action to ensure you can no longer start a GoFundMe for BLMGA. PayPal has also confirmed BLMGA has been removed from its database,’ the crowdfunding outlet said in a statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ‘Campaigns with m!suse are very rare, and we take all complaints very seriously. Our team is working with law enfo-rcement and assisting them in the investigation,’ the statement added. The page has a cr!minal record. Court and arr-est records from 2014 and 2015 reveal he faced cha-rges of impe-rsonating an officer.
This Article First Published On DAILYMAIL