Xahra Saleem, 23, an organizer of black lives matter has pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by abuse of position following an investigation by Avon and Somerset Police into a GoFundMe page called 'BristBLM' set up ahead of the protest in Bristol in June 2020.
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| Xahra Saleem |
Saleem had set up the crowdfunding page to raise money for face masks and other equipment to help facilitate the march legally, given it was taking place at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
An agreement is said to have been made that any excess funds would go to charity Changing Your Mindset Ltd, which was a youth group based in the St Pauls area of Bristol - so young people could go on a trip to Africa.
The Colston statue was pushed into Bristol harbour on June 7th, 2020, during protests related to the death of George Floyd in the US, and the subsequent global BLM movement.
Following the protest, which gained world-wide attention, the page was able to raise tens of thousands of pounds, however, none of the money is alleged to have arrived with the charity, changing your mindset Ltd.
The organizer who changed her name from Yvonne Maina to Xahra Saleem, is accused of using money raised for BLM, on herself.
She initially entered not-guilty pleas to two charges of fraud. The second charge related to a separate online fundraising page set up in the days following the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston in June 2020, called 'Bristol Protesters Legal Fees'.
A trial was listed for December but Saleem appeared at Bristol Crown Court last week to change her plea to guilty for the first charge.
The second charge was discontinued by the Crown Prosecution Service, it emerged today.
Xahra Saleem will return to the same court to be sentenced at the end of October.
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