A Black Lives Matter activist from Atlanta, Georgia was arrested by the FBI on Friday morning on charges of money laundering and wire fraud after he was accused of using donation money to fund his own ritzy lifestyle, buying things like tailored suits, guns, and a security system.
Sir Maejor Page, a 32 year-old activist who is also known as Tyree Conyers-Page, was arrested in Toledo, Ohio and was hit with one count of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Page allegedly ran a Facebook page called, “Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta,” a non-profit organization that accepted monetary donations, claiming that the money would be used to fight racial injustices. The FBI said that on a GoFundMe page that he used to solicit donations, Page said that “none of the funds have been used for personal items.”
The FBI states that Page opened a bank account called “Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta, Inc.,” and he was the only signatory on it. The bank account balance never exceeded $5,000 between April of 2018 and May of 2020, yet donations started pouring in after the death of George Floyd at the end of May. Between June and August, FBI officials found that $467,342.18 in donations were transferred to the BLMGA bank account that Page oversaw, according to WTOL-TV.
Page allegedly used the debit card that was linked to the BLMGA bank account to make personal purchases for himself, spending the money on things like food, entertainment, tailored suits, furniture, guns, and a home security system. In the past month, Page has flaunted his new fancy clothes on Instagram, showing off tailored suits, “nice cufflinks,” and “$150 ties.”
In the end, the FBI says that Page spent $200,000 on personal items with money from donations made to his Black Lives Matter organization, and they found no evidence that he spent a dime on social or racial justice causes.
Page was released on $10,000 bond under an agreement that stipulates that he is not allowed to use Facebook. He is also not allowed to do any fundraising or, to create any new bank accounts or lines of credit without prior approval of Pretrial Services.
GoFundMe released a brief statement saying that the page has been 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 statement said. “Campaigns with misuse are very rare, and we take all complaints very seriously. Our team is working with law enforcement and assisting them in the investigation.”
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