A BLM organizer in England has been jailed for using fundraising donations to fuel her expensive lifestyle, the BBC reported Tuesday.
Xahra Saleem, 23, a former director of Changing Your Mindset, was one of the organizers of a June 2020 protest in Bristol held in response to the death of George Floyd, according to the BBC. Saleem became well-known after that protest ended with the toppling of the statue of slave trader Edward Colston being pulled down and tossed into Bristol Harbor, according to BBC. (RELATED: Scandal-Ridden BLM Activist Shaun King Will Pay $75,000 For Calling DA Candidate A ‘Real Life Supervillain)
In the run-up to the protest, Saleem created a fundraising page to buy personal protective equipment (PPE) to comply with regulations established during the Covid-19 pandemic, the BBC reported.
Saleem pleaded guilty to transferring more than £32,000 of the fundraising money to her personal bank account and spending it between June 2020 and September 2021, the BBC reported.
More than 2,500 payments were made from the account in a “constant leakage over a significant period of time,” Judge Michael Longman said. Saleem spent the money on living expenses, a new iPhone, hair and beauty appointments, clothing, Amazon orders, takeaways and taxis, according to BBC.
The judge said that raising the money was “a worthwhile cause” but that “you [Saleem] then used (it) not for their benefit but for your own, funding a lifestyle for yourself that you could not otherwise have afforded.”
“In the absence of a business account to pay the money into, the decision was made to pay it into your own account as an interim measure,” the judge said. He added, “The others involved in the project trusted you to hold the funds securely until a better arrangement could be made. There should have been no reason why the money could not be transferred into that account but problems became apparent. The money was not transferred and you made excuses for that failure.”
Saleem claimed she committed the fraud because she was not thinking clearly due to psychosis, according to the BBC. After originally pleading not guilty, Saleem said she now feels remorse, the outlet reported.
Saleem appeared at Bristol Crown Court in a hijab and was sentenced to two-and-a-half years of prison, The Independent reported.