An Ohio man posing as a Black Lives Matter leader was indicted by a federal grand jury on multiple charges of money laundering and wire fraud last week after the FBI discovered he used a Facebook page to “defraud donors out of almost half-a-million dollars” in 2016.
Local Toledo activist, Sir Maejor Page, facing four criminal charges. Three counts of money laundering and one count of wire fraud. Find out why… @NBC24WNWO
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Sir Maejor Page, 32, reportedly created the Facebook page titled “Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta” in 2016, marketing it as a nonprofit dedicated to garnering financial donations for racial justice. Even after the IRS revoked the organization’s 501(c)(3) status due to the lack of proper paperwork in 2019, Page reportedly continued to collect donations through the death of George Floyd in 2020, claiming the funds would be used to support protests and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Page, however, allegedly spent at least $200,000 of the $450,000 donations for personal endeavors and entertainment in Toledo, Ohio and Atlanta including “personal items, hotel rooms, clothing, firearms, a house and adjoining vacant lot at Glenwood and Maplewood avenues, and payment to a prostitute.”
Page claims he did not “intentionally commit any crimes” and merely tried to fulfill “my only purpose in life to fight for those whose voices have been muffled and or silenced.”
“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,” charging documents stated. “Several audio statements are made by Page in the videos boasting about the money he has, his tailored suits, his nice cufflinks and ‘$150 dollar ties,’ and boasting about ‘my room way up at the top … at the top top … they put the bottom feeders on these floors…”
None of the donations Page reportedly received from the social media page were linked to a “purchase or expenditure for social or racial justice.”
FBI previously arrested Page in Toledo in September on one count of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering.
“Page is accused of using unprecedented tensions and uncertainty due to widespread civil unrest and a global pandemic to fill his own bank account,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric B. Smith. “Page allegedly purchased homes, traveled, and spent other people’s money to buy luxury items for himself, all on the backs of hardworking people believing they were donating to a worthy cause. The FBI will continue efforts to root out fraudsters who victimize our fellow citizens for personal gain.”
