Morgan claimed she was setting aside money for a bail fund but actually spent the donations on a Mercedes, purchases at apparel stores, and a renovation.
Dominique Morgan, former executive director of the Black-trans-advocacy group the Okra Project, allegedly stole nearly $100,000 from the organization for personal expenses, according prosecutors.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced on Friday, October 29 that Morgan — a man who claims to be a woman — was charged with one count of second-degree grand larceny and 23 counts of first-degree falsifying business records. Morgan faces a maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison if convicted of the top count.
The Okra Project describes itself as a “mutual aid collective” dedicated to “supporting Black Trans people,” and it claims to offer a grocery-assistance fund, a utility-bill fund, a rental-assistance fund, as well as the “flowers fund” that recognizes “community leaders who consistently uplift and support the Black Trans community.” When serving as the executive director, Morgan claimed that the Okra Project would begin an initiative to pay bail for black trans people awaiting criminal trials.
According to Gonzalez’s statement, Morgan transferred approximately $99,000 to a personal bank account in July, 2022 purportedly for the bail initiative. However, those funds were used for personal expenses, including car payments for a Mercedes Benz, purchases at apparel stores, meals, and a $19,000 California Closet renovation.
When the Okra Project asked for proof of the payments toward bail, Morgan allegedly submitted purported receipts for 23 individuals who had supposedly been arrested in Georgia and Nebraska. The Okra Project then conducted an audit, which revealed no record of such persons being arrested.
“The theft of nonprofit funds deprives communities of critical resources, erodes public trust, and cheats donors who give in good faith,” Gonzalez said in the statement. “The defendant in this case allegedly stole bail funds meant to secure pre-trial release of indigent defendants, instead using the money for personal benefit. We will continue to investigate and prosecute all types of fraud to ensure that funds are not misappropriated or stolen.”
Although the District Attorney’s statement alleges that Morgan stole approximately $99,000, the organization claimed in a 2022 tax filing that Morgan stole much more and was fired on August 3, 2022.
“After [Morgan] was fired, the Okra Project became aware of seemingly fraudulently diverted funds for Dominique’s personal benefit in an amount totalling $163,665,” reads a Form 990 from the Okra Project. “The Okra Project repeatedly asked [Morgan] to provide an explanation for the payments totalling $163,665 or to return the diverted funds. As of the filing of this form 990, no explanation has been provided and the funds have not been returned.”
According to that 2022 tax form, Morgan worked an average of 35 hours a week for the organization and received compensation totaling $327,558 that year — a salary that Morgan personally set. The Okra Project reported a total revenue of nearly $3 million in 2022; it spent roughly $1.4 million on employee compensation, salaries, and wages that year, but awarded just $244,000 in grant funding to domestic organizations and does not list awarding any grants or assistance to individuals.
Morgan — a self-described “black transgender woman,” “compassionate care practitioner,” “donor strategist,” and “philanthropic co-conspirator” who also makes music — has been celebrated as an activist and been given several awards. In summer of 2023, a street in Omaha, Nebraska where Morgan grew up was renamed the “Dominique Morgan Street,”the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Morgan was also a Grand Marshal of the New York City Pride March parade in 2022.
Morgan claims to have been arrested for “survival crimes” at age 18, and then served ten years in prison.
“I was 17 years old when I escaped to the streets to find refuge from a very abusive relationship. . . I had no choice but to engage in survival sex work to continue some form of life,” Morgan wrote in a 2021 article. “Stealing cars, not to joyride in but to sleep in. Writing bad checks for groceries, clothing, and hotels. My 17-year-old mind did not register any of these as heinous actions against society, but rather decisions I made in a time of desperation that led me to being sentenced to 8 to 16 years in Nebraska’s prison system.”
Morgan also served as the executive director of the prison-abolitionist organization Black and Pink, and according to a 2022 tax filing, had a salary of $170,000 for that role. According to LinkedIn, Morgan has served as the program director for the “Fund for Trans Generations” at Borealis Philosophy since November, 2022.
“[Morgan] leads this work with the intention of dismantling the prison industrial complex and a theory [he] describes as the ‘gender to prison pipeline,’” reads a statement by Borealis Philanthropy announcing Morgan’s position.