A Black Lives Matter organiser has been jailed for two and a half years after defrauding a charity of over £30,000 to fund a lavish lifestyle. Xahra Saleem, 23, from Romford, London, admitted one count of fraud by abusing her position as director of Changing Your Mindset, a charity for disadvantaged youths in Bristol.
Saleem set up a fundraising page ahead of a BLM protest in Bristol on 7 June 2020, which ended with the toppling of the Edward Colston statue. The page raised more than £32,000 intended for personal protective equipment (PPE) for the march, held during Covid-19 restrictions. Instead, Saleem transferred the money to her personal accounts and spent it between June 2020 and September 2021.
Bristol Crown Court heard that Saleem used the funds for living expenses, a new iPhone, hair and beauty appointments, clothing, Amazon orders, takeaways, and taxis. Judge Michael Longman noted over 2,500 payments from her account, describing it as a 'constant leakage over a significant period of time'. He stated that Saleem funded a lifestyle she could not otherwise afford.
The court was told that Saleem initially claimed the money was lost and offered contradictory excuses. She discussed the fraud with a friend on WhatsApp, saying: 'I have done something horrendous, you can't tell anyone until I have properly sorted it out'. Draft apology messages were also found on her phone. Saleem claimed she suffered from psychosis, but the judge rejected this defence.
