The former leader of a nonprofit named Black Lives Matter (BLM) of Greater Atlanta was sentenced to over three years in prison on Thursday after he was found guilty of financial crimes for using his charity’s money to live a luxurious lifestyle after raising more than $400,000 following the death of George Floyd.
Tyree Conyers-Page, who used the name Sir Maejor Page when representing BLM of Greater Atlanta, was sentenced in Ohio on Thursday to 42 months in federal prison, or three-and-a-half years, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, over what prosecutors successfully argued was a scheme to defraud donors to Black Lives Matter.
Conyers-Page reportedly created a Facebook page for BLM of Greater Atlanta around 2016, then created a nonprofit organization under the same name at a later date.
A federal sentencing memo reveals Conyers-Page was convicted in April 2024 on wire fraud and money laundering counts after he “misdirected funds away from activism, and toward himself,” in a scheme the DOJ said was “driven by self-aggrandizement and self-satisfaction.”
Prosecutors said Conyers-Page continued using the BLM of Greater Atlanta organization to raise money in 2020, despite not having filed tax reports for the entity in three years, resulting in BLM of Greater Atlanta losing its tax exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The court proved Conyers-Page ultimately raised at least $450,000 under false pretenses while fundraising after Floyd’s death, and revealed the fraudster used the money to live lavishly.
According to the DOJ, Conyers-Page raised the money, “in order to purchase luxury clothing, meals, drinks at bars and nightclubs, a house, firearms, and a prostitute, all for himself,” and “stubbornly denied and obfuscated his conduct, continuing through his testimony at trial, where he intentionally sought to mislead the jury.”
Prosecutors said many of these purchases were made using a different name for his organization, representing attempts by Conyers-Page to conceal them from his donors.
Conyers-Page reportedly argued that he was in the process of changing his nonprofit’s name after moving to Ohio, and when Conyers-Page took the stand in his own defense in April, The Toledo Blade reported he argued, “I didn’t commit fraud. I wasn’t trying to trick anybody.”
He claimed that he made multiple posts to the BLM of Greater Atlanta page on Facebook informing its followers the group was no longer a nonprofit, and argued that he failed to file paperwork to maintain his organization’s tax-exempt status because of the “grassroots” nature of his activism.
“You can operate under government regulations, or you can be grassroots. I made the decision not to do the extra bureaucratic stuff,” Conyers-Page reportedly told the court. He later said he took the stand “because this is what democracy looks like.”
While Conyers-Page opposed actions taken by members of law enforcement when operating his BLM of Greater Atlanta group, Law and Crime reported he was repeatedly arrested for impersonating a police officer in 2016.
A Georgia television news report posted to social media suggests Conyers-Page was on probation for such an arrest when he founded the BLM of Greater Atlanta group.
Tyree Conyers-Page, also known as Sir Maejor Page, the former head of BLM Atlanta who just received a 42 month prison sentence for stealing donations to fund a lavish personal lifestyle, was arrested repeatedly for impersonating a Police Officer in 2016 pic.twitter.com/4gzpeb8q6i
— Paul Harvey Predicts 🇳🇿NZ (@HicksKiwi) October 5, 2024
– – –
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Tyree Conyers-Page” by Tyree Conyers-Page.
