Watchdogs questioned how Black Lives Matter (BLM) spent its money last year. The organization has raised millions of dollars since its inception all in the name of fighting racism.
BLM has its hands in various cookie jars as it works to further its causes while constantly raising money. What watchdogs uncovered is that it appears one hand is feeding the other when it comes to BLM finances.
Questions surround the political action committee (PAC) associated with the primary BLM organization. Federal Election Commission (FEC) records showed that BLM spent the majority of its 2023 expenses paying the consulting firm owned by the treasurer of the PAC.
From the Daily Caller:
Black Lives Matter PAC paid $90,000 to Bowers Consulting Firm in 2023 for “strategic consulting services,” according to FEC disbursement filings. Shalomyah Bowers is both the treasurer of Black Lives Matter PAC and the founding president of Bowers Consulting Firm.
The twist is that, according to the FEC, treasurers like Bowers who handle the disbursement of funds for these super PAC organizations have legal authority to spend as they see fit. Bowers has her hands in both cookie jars when it comes to the BLM PAC and her own consulting firm.
FEC filings showed that Bowers Consulting Firm received about 61% of the $146,679 Black Lives Matter PAC spent in 2023. Much of the rest of the PAC’s expenses went to items such as legal fees, compliance services, payment processing fees, bank expenses, and about $10,000 on advertisements.
A donation page for the Black Lives Matter PAC claims donations received will “help us elect progressive community leaders, activists and working-class candidates fighting for Black liberation.” The claims of supporting leftist candidates doesn’t align with the story revealed in 2023 filings by the PAC.
FEC records showed that the PAC spent zero dollars to support or oppose candidates and zero dollars on transfers to candidates or other committees in 2023. After most of its expenses went to the treasurer’s consulting firm, the PAC had just $3,575 cash on hand at the end of the year.
“The fact that BLM PAC funneled almost $100,000 back to their leader, all while spending nothing to support or oppose candidates, shows they are nothing more than a scam PAC,” Americans for Public Trust Executive Director Caitlin Sutherland said.
Sutherland said this is an example of “self-enrichment” from an organization facing many complaints about their “murky finances.” These patterns with expenses, while legal, “raise serious ethical concerns,” according to Craig Holman, a government affairs lobbyist at the nonpartisan consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen.
“[The] self-enrichment of having campaigns pay for services from businesses owned by the candidate or even campaign staff is an unnecessary loophole in the campaign finance law,” Holman said.
This isn’t the only jar Bowers has his hands in with BLM. Bowers Consulting Firm received more than $2 million from Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF), the 501(c)(3) nonprofit associated with Black Lives Matter PAC, according to tax documents. This was the same time frame where Bowers was listed as the principal officer of the nonprofit.
Key Takeaways:
- A BLM scandal broke open after tax filings revealed where PAC money ended up.
- Black Lives Matter PAC paid huge sums to a firm owned by the PAC treasurer.
- Watchdogs questioned the ethics of how all the money was spent in one year.
Source: Daily Caller
