Jury Convicts Self-Described Civil Rights Activist from Toledo of Wire Fraud and Money Laundering

TOLEDO - Sir Maejor Page, 35, of Toledo, was found guilty of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering by a jury after a six-day trial before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Helmick.

According to court documents and testimony, in 2016, Page created a Facebook page for "Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta" ("BLMGA") and registered this organization as a domestic non-profit with the Georgia Secretary of State Corporation's Division. In 2017, the IRS approved Page's request granting BLMGA tax-exempt status under Section 503(c)(3) of the tax code, but dissolved this status in 2019. Page nonetheless accepted donations after falsely portraying BLMGA to the public as a legitimate charity engaged in social justice work, when in fact, it was not. Instead, Page used the money that individual donors gave to BLMGA not for social justice causes, but rather to buy items for his own personal use, such as a house and furniture. Page also committed money-laundering crimes when he bought these items with the donations that he fraudulently obtained.

"The United States Attorney's Office prioritizes the prosecution of white-collar criminal conduct, particularly conduct involving deceptive schemes that selfishly exploit a charitable donor's goodwill for personal gain," said United States Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko, for the Northern District of Ohio. "The donors to BLMGA thought they were giving their hard-earned money to a cause they believed in. But instead of using it to support that cause, Page used it for himself. The jury's verdict is a warning to every fraudster that when you misrepresent how donations or other money given to you in trust will be used, you will be prosecuted and punished."

"Preying on the generosity of the public for personal gain is cold and calculated," said FBI Cleveland Special Agent in Charge Greg Nelsen. "The FBI and it's white-collar crime division along with our federal, state, and local partners will continue to aggressively find and investigate criminals who believe they can deceive others through shady business practices."

No sentencing date has been set.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gene Crawford and Rob Melching.