Yet another group has been exposed for defrauding a nation of guilt-ridden individuals and corporations.
The tentacles of leftism have used the tragic death of George Floyd to siphon funds from the wealthy, corporate PR departments, and the mentally fragile as individuals in their pursuit of social justice.
Raheem AI founder Brandon Anderson was one of those alleged con artists who made promises he never intended to keep.
Armed with the humanizing story of his friend Raheem, who was allegedly killed by Oklahoma City police in 2007, and his fanciful idea of replacing cops with an app, his group raised $4.4 million in donations.
Raheem AI's concept of creating a “Yelp for police” prompted $1.6 million in donations from tech-focused charities and large liberal nonprofits like the Kresge Foundation and the Annenberg Foundation.
But instead of a project, the money enriched one person: Anderson allegedly used the money to pay himself a $160,000 salary, spend $46,000 in charity money on a ride-sharing service, $80,000 on luxury vacation rentals, and make a number of other questionable purchases. Anderson denies misusing the funds.
More from Adam B. Coleman
Even the foundation of this quirky organization was reportedly built on lies, with an Oklahoma state medical examiner finding no documented police-involved shootings that matched Anderson's fabricated story.
I'm not surprised that an organization like Raheem AI would scheme to defraud major charities of their donations, but I am surprised that more of its failure to produce tangible results and misappropriation of funds have not been exposed.
Many police departments across the country may be facing legitimate issues that are negatively impacting the safety and prosperity of their citizens.
California mansion purchased by Black Lives Matter leaders, Ringo Chiu, NY Post
One of the most prominent groups, Black Lives Matter, has come under fire for spending money on a California mansion and internal security contracts rather than on its stated causes, and a local chapter of the same name has also come under fire for alleged misappropriation.
Meanwhile, Robin DiAngelo, who made money shaming white people and wrote a book called “White Fragility,” is now being accused of plagiarism.
Is anyone really surprised?
Of course, the real victims here are not the corporate donors who usually provide funding as part of a public relations campaign.
The real victims are those who could have benefited from needed change if only the money was in the hands of caring people.
Anderson allegedly used the donations to pay for his own salary, vacation rentals and ride-sharing services. Facebook/Brandon D. Anderson
And the bigger cost is being willing to participate in future charity projects for fear of becoming a victim of another left-wing scheme of deception.
There are real people who could benefit from common-sense police reform, but they are either belittled by an opinionated upper class pursuing a false utopia or duped by immoral characters seeking to profit from people's suffering.
Anderson announced that philanthropists are hell-bent on showing the public they're on the “right side of history” rather than doing the hard work needed to actually make a difference.
Will they learn their lesson for next time? Sadly, no. Nothing comes out of left field, it's a feature, not a bug.
Adam B. Coleman is the author of Black Victim to Black Victor and founder of Wrong Speak Publishing.
