According to a recent IRS filing, Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF) co-founder Patrisse Cullors allegedly spent millions of dollars in foundation funds on contracts and payments to the father of her child, her brother, and the foundation’s board secretary, The Washington Examiner reports.
The payouts allegedly reached a total of $4 million. The BLM Global Network reportedly paid $2.1 million to Bowers Consulting, run by BLMGNF board secretary Shalomyah Bowers, between July 2020 and June 2021. Bowers’ firm was paid $2.1 million for providing the organization with “operational support.”
The nonprofit reportedly paid an additional $1.8 million to “individuals with close ties to Cullors,” including her brother and the father of her child.
Trap Heals LLC, a company founded by Damon Turner, the father of Cullors’ child, received $970,000. The filing described the payment as being for “creative services” or assisting in producing live events.
Another $840,000 was allegedly paid to Cullors Protection LLC, a security company owned by Paul Cullors, Patrisse’s brother.
The tax filings also show that BLMGNF provided private jet service for Cullors. In response, BLMGNF stated, “Charter travel for the executive director was incurred due to security threats and during the COVID pandemic. This travel was for organizational purposes.”
As reported by The Dallas Express, Cullors’ spending had already come into question this past April when it was first determined the foundation used funds to purchase a Los Angeles home at the cost of $6 million. New York Magazine had publicly criticized this purchase, although Cullors said the acquisition was to be a retreat for members of the BLM group and the black community as a whole.
CharityWatch Executive Director Laurie Styron said, “I have never witnessed a lack of governance on this scale in my nearly 20 years as a charity watchdog.” Styron also said BLM’s poor management of its funds risks hurting public trust in charity organizations.
Cullors, who resigned in July 2021, denies any wrongdoing where funds were concerned.
“The idea that [the foundation] received millions of dollars and then I hid those dollars in my bank account is absolutely false,” Cullors said. “That’s a false narrative. It’s impacted me personally and professionally, that people would accuse me of stealing from black people.”
According to the tax filing, Patrisse Cullors herself did not receive any payments directly from the organization, nor did her consulting firm, Janaya and Patrisse Consulting. The new forms are the first documentation showing how BLMGNF money was spent.