*A California judge dismissed a $10 million lawsuit brought against Black Lives Matter and its leader.
Melina Abdullah, leader of the civil rights group BLM Grassroots, filed the lawsuit last year. She accuses Shalomyah Bowers and his national Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (GNF) of “siphoning” more than $10 million from donors and using the funds to line his own pockets, CNN reports. Bowers denied the claims leveled against him in the lawsuit.
BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors hired Bowers in 2020 to help run GNF, an extension of the Black Lives Matter organization, according to the suit. Abdullah claims her group was entitled to $10 million from BLMGNF but a Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge disagreed.
Jude Stephanie Bowick ruled last week that Abdullah failed to prove her case, New York Post reports.
“The judge determined that Melina Abdullah and BLM Grassroots failed to establish that they were entitled to any donated funds,” said BLMGNF attorney Byron McLain in a statement to The Post.
Bowers’ lawyers said Abdullah’s case was a power grab.
“Melina Abdullah and her colleagues spent over a year tearing down Shalomyah’s name, reputation and character in an ill-fated ego-driven attempt to seize control of one of the most prominent charitable organizations supporting black empowerment,” according to a statement, The Post reports.
The BLM organization received $90 million in donations over the last few years, but recorded a $9 million deficit in 2022, according to federal filings.
Cullors left the organization after The Post revealed that she dropped $3 million to expand her real estate portfolio.
READ MORE: Support for Black Lives Matter Movement Has Dropped Since 2020: Report
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