The national Black Lives Matter organization has long been plagued with evidence of corruption and self-enrichment. In the spring of 2021, it was revealed that Patrisse Cullors, a co-founder of BLM and a self-described Marxist, had gone on a multi-million dollar home-buying spree. That included the purchase of an affluent property in Topanga Canyon, CA.

Just days ago, RedState’s Jennifer O’Connell wrote on a bombshell report noting the shocking lack of transparency surrounding BLM’s finances. That’s not by accident either. Various leaders have actively sought to hide the organization’s financial machinations from the public eye. The result has been very little money going toward the “cause” and lots of cash flowing into the pockets of activists.

Worse, following the resignation of Cullors, there doesn’t appear to be anyone actually in charge anymore. Meanwhile, $60 million in unspent funds is still sitting in the group’s coffers.

BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors appointed two activists to serve as the group’s senior directors following her resignation in May amid scrutiny over her personal finances. But both quietly announced in September that they never took the jobs due to disagreements with BLM. They told the Washington Examiner they don’t know who now leads the nation’s most influential social justice organization.

Now, on the heels of that report, BLM has gone dark, shutting down all of its fundraising apparatus.

BREAKING: Black Lives Matter's national arm just went and shut down ALL its online fundraising streams following a @dcexaminer investigation that exposed the charity's shocking lack of financial transparencyhttps://t.co/Mq9oAeZ9I1

— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) February 2, 2022

While I don’t agree politically with most of the people who gave money to BLM, I can still feel some sympathy for the fact that they got scammed. Instead of their money going to a well-run organization that was dedicated to fulfilling its mission, it went into a black hole of corruption. Activists made bank, while very little money made its way to the local projects BLM promised to fund. As to the money that is left, it’s just sitting there. I somehow doubt that’s what donors had in mind when they chose to give to BLM.

What’s especially egregious, though, is that BLM’s leadership didn’t even bother to fake things. For the most part, it appears they just took the money and ran. No apologies have been given, and no responsibility has been taken for what has transpired. The pack of grifters who started BLM got their cut and essentially disappeared.

Of course, many on the right, including many of us here at RedState, spoke out from the beginning, asserting that BLM was not an organization to be lauded, trusted, or supported. Far too many well-meaning people got caught up in the hype without stopping to think critically about what was going on right in front of them. BLM never showed itself to have the capacity to do much of anything, much less responsibly handle tens of millions of dollars.

On that note, I’m going to repeat something I’ve said before: Stop giving to large, online fundraisers. Whether it’s a GoFundMe for some random thing you saw on Twitter or scam charities like BLM, your money is better spent in your local community where you can have some first-hand accountability. If there are any exceptions (i.e. a well-established missions organization or medical charity, for example), skepticism and caution should be furiously exercised.

Returning to BLM, the group and its leaders have caused profound damage to the credibility of the movement they claim to represent, and in a saner world, the DOJ would be investigating right now. I would be shocked if laws haven’t been broken. Unfortunately, I suspect that the racial politics involved have made the organization and its leaders largely untouchable, at least while a Democrat inhabits the White House. Still, those who got screwed should fight for some kind of recourse. Perhaps, one day, there will be some.