TOLEDO, Ohio — A local activist was sentenced to prison Thursday after being convicted of wire fraud and money laundering for starting a Black Lives Matter non-profit organization to defraud donors.
Sir Maejor Page was sentenced to 42 months in prison after being found guilty in April on one count of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release.
Page was accused of fraudulently utilizing a Black Lives Matter non-profit organization by way of misrepresentations and by posing as a Black Lives Matter leader.
Back in Sept. 2020, the FBI and the Toledo Police Department raided a home on the 2000 block of Glenwood, arresting Page in the process.
Police said an investigation showed Page had created and operated a social media page with the name Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta (BLMGA) as a non-profit organization capable of accepting monetary donations. BLMGA was also listed as a non-profit organization with GoFundMe.
Officers said a bank account named "Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta, Inc." was opened in 2018 with Page being the only signatory on the account. The FBI said from April 2018 to May 2020, the account balance ebbed and flowed, but never had a balance that exceeded $5,000; at one time, the account had a balance of -$12.42.
Between June 2020 and August 2020, the BLMGA social media page received about $467,342.18 in donations. The FBI said all of that money was transferred to the "Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta, Inc." account owned and operated by Page.
According to the FBI, in June 2020, Page responded to private social media inquiry messages that funds had been donated to be used to fight for George Floyd, and that "none of the funds have been used for personal items. All movement-related."
However, the FBI said that in June, July and August 2020, Page repeatedly used a debit card linked to the same account to make purchases related to food, dining, entertainment, clothing, furniture, home security systems, tailored suits and accessories.
The largest purchase was made from the BLMGA bank account to a title company on Aug. 21, 2020 for the purchase of a residence and an adjacent vacant lot in Toledo, in the 2000 block of Glenwood, for $112,000.
Open records show the house belonged to an organization called Hi Frequency. Page was one of the leaders of the organization.
The FBI said Page tried to hide his ownership in this real estate transaction, stating in the non-disclosure agreement that it was to be entered "by and between Hi Frequency Ohio via Sir Maejor Page" and the seller's agent.
In Sept. 2020, the FBI said Page used a personal bank account in his name to accept a transfer of funds from the BLMGA account to purchase a pistol and two rifles. Numerous videos and livestream videos were posted to Page's personal social media pages showing himself in what appeared to be newly-purchased clothing, hotel rooms and office space in Atlanta.
According to the FBI, Page spent over $200,000 on personal items generated from donations received from BLMGA social media page with no identifiable purchase or expenditure for social or racial injustice.