‘Delinquent’ BLM forced to halt online donations – media
The Black Lives Matter movement has been forced to suspend its online fundraising efforts after various state attorneys general questioned its financial record-keeping, The Washington Examiner revealed. Prosecutors in California and Washington state have apparently demanded that the group disclose financial statements from 2020.
The news outlet reported that the official BLM website no longer featured a donation button following the move to halt online contributions on Wednesday. The decision was taken days after California reportedly threatened to hold leaders of the “delinquent” movement “personally liable” for the lack of financial transparency.
On Tuesday, The Washington Examiner published a letter from California Attorney General Rob Bonta informing the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF) that it was prohibited from “soliciting or disbursing funds” for non-payment of various fees and failing to submit an annual report for the 2020 tax year.
The letter, dated January 31, gives the group two months to submit the reports and warns that the registered charity risked losing its tax-exempt status if it failed to comply. In this scenario, the movement would be treated as a “taxable corporation.”
The California Department of Justice would not comment on whether it was investigating BLM so as to “protect its integrity,” the outlet reported.
Last month, Washington state reportedly warned the group to “immediately cease” all fundraising activities in the state or face $2,000 fines for each violation. Its charity registration is also apparently out of compliance in the states of Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Virginia, according to the Examiner.
Meanwhile, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita had called BLM a “house of cards [that] may be falling” during an interview with the publication, adding that “this happens eventually with nearly every scam, scheme, or illegal enterprise.” He told the outlet that certain “patterns similar to scams” had prompted “suspicion,” but declined to confirm whether an investigation was ongoing.
An unnamed BLMGNF spokesperson told Fox News that it took “these matters seriously and have taken immediate action.” They confirmed that BLM had “shut down online fundraising as we work quickly to ensure we are meeting all compliance requirements” and “engaged compliance counsel to address any issues related to state fundraising compliance.”
