A Black Lives Matter activist in North Dakota has accepted a plea deal after being accused, along with her husband, of misusing nonprofit funds and passing them along to businesses owned by family members, Fargo-based InForum reported this week.
Faith Shields-Dixon, founder of the Faith4Hope Scholarship Fund, has agreed to plead guilty to three of five felony theft charges under an Oct. 1 plea deal, the outlet reported. The agreement comes amid years of scrutiny over alleged financial mismanagement by BLM leaders following large infusions of funding.
Prosecutors allege Shields-Dixon accepted $350,000 in grant money for the Faith4Hope Scholarship Fund — intended to support low-income families — and funneled $124,000 to businesses tied to her relatives.
She told the outlet that the details of her illegal conduct will be clarified at her sentencing hearing.
She initially applied for a $1.5 million grant program in October 2021, according to court documents.
The businesses that Shields-Dixon funneled money to include her father's food stand, Diezel Double Barrel BBQ; her brother's music and production company, Revolution Records; and Be The Light Dance Studio, which is owned by Tekeema Shields, according to court documents.
Under the plea deal, Shields-Dixon's attorney, Dane DeKrey, will request the charges be reduced to misdemeanors with a minimum four-month jail term. The agreement also dismisses the remaining two theft counts but still requires approval from Burleigh County District Judge Bobbi Weiler before it becomes final.
"My attorneys and I will explain exactly what did and did not happen with respect to the grant funding I accepted from the city of Fargo and state of North Dakota," Shields-Dixon said in a statement. "Then — and only then — should anyone draw any conclusions about me, my family and the decisions I made in this matter."
The case against Shields-Dixon is just the latest in a cascading series of corruption charges leveled against the disgraced civil rights group. In September, Monica Cannon-Grant, a BLM activist in Boston, pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges related to allegations that she and her late husband misappropriated more than $1 million in grants and donations.
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