State AG Threatens To Bring The Hammer Down On BLM Over Financial Disclosures

California’s attorney general has warned Black Lives Matter Global Network that if the group leaders don’t submit financial records, the state could revoke their tax-exempt status.

The Washington Examiner published a letter that stated, “An organization that has been suspended, delinquent or revoked is no longer in good standing” and prohibited it from engaging in any conduct which requires registration, such as soliciting or disbursing charity funds.”

The Examiner published the letter Tuesday, January 31, 2022. The group could be reinstated with The Registry of Charitable Trusts by paying a renewal charge and turning in an IRS 990 form detailing financial activities.

Fox News’s requests for comment were not immediately answered by either Black Lives Matter or the California Department of Justice.

Black Lives Matter reported that at the end of 2020 it had raised $90 million and spent $8.4million in operating expenses. It also distributed $21.7million in grants to 33 organizations. The year ended with a balance of $60 million.

The IRS 990 report for 2019 by the group, filed in October 2020, did not show any revenue, expenses or assets before 2020. According to the Washington Examiner, Black Lives Matter wasn’t officially registered with the IRS as a charity until late 2020. Before that, it funneled donations through liberal charities.

The IRS website for Black Lives Matter does not have a 990 report for 2020. However, it usually takes at least a year before such reports are made public. It is unclear if Black Lives Matter did not file a 990 report with the IRS, or if it simply failed to send a copy to California as required by law.

The Examiner published a letter from Bonta warning that Black Lives Matter would be held responsible for all late fees for each month or partial month that the reports were not in order.

The Examiner’s letter continued, “Charitable assets can not be used to pay these avoidable expenses.” Directors, trustees, officers, and return preparers who fail to file the report(s) on time are personally responsible for all penalties, interest, and other costs incurred in restoring exempt status.

It’s unclear who would pay those fees as the founder of the company, Patrisse Curlors, resigned last year and her successors never reached an agreement to take the job.