We’re always a bit reluctant to post stuff like this because a) it brings out all the racists and b) people get mad at us for covering it because of point a). At the end of the day though, it’s something that really happened: a BLM activist who raised £70,000 ended up pocketing it all for herself.
Xahra Saleem, 23, was one of the organisers of the BLM protests which toppled the Edward Colston statue in Bristol in 2020.
She was a director for Changing Your Mindset, a Bristol-based youth group which sought to raise money during the peak of the BLM movement via a fundraiser. They did pretty well – raising £70,000 in total. Just one problem, though – Xahra kept the £70,000 for herself and splashed it all on Ubers, takeaways and clothes. Living the dream!
Of course, in the end, she got found out when the youth group received none of the cash, and her GoFundMe was investigated.
Given that Xahra is now ‘penniless’, she was ordered to repay just £1.
Speaking after the hearing at Bristol Crown Court, DC Anthony Davis said:
‘Xahra Saleem admitted to defrauding a charity of a significant sum of money and received a custodial sentence for it last year.
‘She made the conscious decision to take the money for herself, when it should have gone to young people in east Bristol.
‘Blameless individuals who supported the charity were left to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of this serious fraud.
‘They were put in an incredibly difficult position of trying to answer questions about Saleem’s offending when they had done nothing wrong and were left devastated by what occurred.
‘In total it has been calculated Saleem benefitted to the value of approximately £70,000. Nobody should profit from criminality and that’s why we have taken proactive action under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
‘Saleem was instructed at Bristol crown court on April 5 to pay a nominal amount following due consideration of her available assets.
‘Should she obtain assets in the future, we would have the opportunity to seek a re-confiscation order through the courts via Section 22 of the Proceeds of Crime Act.’
So it sounds like they might come back for the remaining £69,999 if and when Xahra makes some money in the future, which absolutely sucks for her. Especially after serving a year in prison! Still, she should have thought of that before she stole £70,000 under such diabolical pretenses.
There was also a 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’, but that was discontinued.
During sentencing, judge Michael Longman told Xahra she had ‘abused her position’ as director of Changing Your Mindset.
‘As an organiser of the Black Lives Matter march in Bristol, you gave yourself a high public profile which you used to raise money to help young people in St Pauls – an immensely worthwhile cause.
‘That money you then used for your benefit not theirs – funding a lifestyle which you could not normally afford.’
It’s especially gutting for all other fundraisers, charities and youth groups out there who are actually trying to do some good – whether that’s to do with BLM or not. There’s always a few bad apples out there who will make the rest of us look bad.
For the truck driver who got so upset by a woman’s BLM flag that he kept following and harassing her, click HERE.
