The Justice Department is investigating whether leaders in the Black Lives Matter movement defrauded donors who contributed tens of millions of dollars during racial justice protests in 2020, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.
In recent weeks, federal law enforcement officials have issued subpoenas and at least one search warrant as part of an investigation into the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc., and other Black-led organizations that helped spark a national reckoning on systemic racism. The people, who were not authorized to discuss an ongoing criminal probe by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press, noted that it was not clear if the investigation would result in criminal charges. However, the mere existence of the probe invites fresh scrutiny of a movement that has faced criticism in recent years about its public accounting of donations.
The recent burst of investigative activity is unfolding amid concerns raised by civil rights groups about the potential for the Trump administration to target a broad variety of progressive and left-leaning organizations critical of him, including those affiliated with Black Lives Matter, the transgender rights movement, and anti-ICE protesters.
Spokespeople for the Justice Department declined to comment on Thursday. One insider said the investigation was initiated during the Biden administration but has received renewed attention under the Trump administration. Another source confirmed that allegations had been examined under Biden’s tenure.
Following the 2020 murder of George Floyd—a Black man whose last moments under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer sparked protests across the U.S. and around the world—the foundation said it took in over $90 million in donations.
Critics of the nonprofit foundation and the broader Black Lives Matter movement accused organizers of lacking transparency regarding how donations were spent. This criticism intensified after foundation leaders confirmed in 2022 that they used donations to purchase a $6 million Los Angeles-area property, which includes a home with six bedrooms and bathrooms. Despite these concerns, leaders have denied wrongdoing and publicly released tax documents. No prior investigations into the nonprofit’s finances have found evidence of impropriety.
Leaders of the foundation have received subpoenas as part of the current probe. In a statement emailed to the AP on Thursday, the foundation said it “is not a target of any federal criminal investigation.” The statement added, “We remain committed to full transparency, accountability, and the responsible stewardship of resources dedicated to building a better future for Black communities.”
### Origins and Growth of the Black Lives Matter Movement
The Black Lives Matter movement first emerged in 2013 after the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida. However, it was the 2014 death of Michael Brown at the hands of police in Ferguson, Missouri, that propelled the slogan “Black lives matter” into a rallying cry for progressives and a target of criticism from conservatives.
Movement founders and organizers pledged to build a decentralized organization governed by the consensus of BLM chapters. As its influence grew, so did the number of organizations affiliated with BLM.
In 2020, a tidal wave of public contributions in the aftermath of protests over Floyd’s murder flowed mainly to the BLM foundation, although other organizations were also resourced from those funds. In 2022, foundation leaders disclosed finances and organizational structures, providing detailed accounts of expenditures. The latest Form 990 filing shows the BLM foundation held $28 million in assets for the fiscal year ending June 2024.
### Details on the Investigation
The investigation is being conducted out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, based in Los Angeles. The top prosecutor there, Bill Essayli, was disqualified from several cases earlier this week after a federal judge determined that the Trump appointee had stayed in the temporary position longer than allowed by law. It remains unclear whether Essayli’s disqualification will affect the BLM investigation.
Essayli effectively continues as the office’s top prosecutor under the title of First Assistant United States Attorney. Previously, he served as a Republican assemblyman in California, championing conservative causes and criticizing the state’s COVID-19 restrictions. He has been outspoken against state policies protecting undocumented immigrants and has aggressively prosecuted protesters opposing Trump’s intensified immigration enforcement in Southern California.
As a private attorney, Essayli characterized Black Lives Matter as a “radical organization” while defending a white couple charged with a hate crime in 2020 after they were videotaped defacing a BLM mural in Martinez, California. At that time, city-sanctioned BLM murals had been painted on roadways nationwide to express solidarity with the racial justice movement.
Essayli told a San Francisco CBS affiliate that his clients were expressing their political viewpoints and opposed taxpayer funds being used to “sponsor a radical organization, Black Lives Matters.” The couple eventually took plea deals to resolve the case in 2022.
### State-Level Responses and Lawsuits
At the height of the Floyd-sparked national reckoning on racial injustice, some state officials vowed to investigate the foundation’s finances, citing their duty to protect residents who may have donated. However, most of these inquiries concluded without official action.
In 2022, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita filed a lawsuit against the BLM foundation for failing to comply with an investigation into its finances. Soon after, the foundation provided the necessary information and documentation, leading to the lawsuit’s dismissal, according to a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office.
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The unfolding federal investigation adds a new chapter to the ongoing scrutiny of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation amid its continued role in the national dialogue on racial justice and activism.
https://nypost.com/2025/10/30/us-news/doj-investigating-possible-fraud-within-black-lives-matter-movement/
