The racial communist movement Black Lives Matter sued the communist organization Tides Foundation, associated with the Hungarian socialist magnate
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The national movement Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF) has filed a lawsuit against the progressive organization Tides Foundation, accusing it of deceptive business practices and financial mismanagement related to USD 33.4 million in donations intended for the fight for racial justice.
In the complaint, which was filed last year but has recently gained momentum, BLMGNF is requesting the intervention of the California Attorney General, considering that Tides has violated the terms of its fiduciary agreement and has used millions of dollars without authorization, even during the course of the litigation.
According to BLMGNF's attorney, Lawrence Segal, the foundation has had to spend money just to recover funds that they themselves raised. "My client now has to pay just to recover its own money," Segal stated.
He also accused Tides of having spent more than USD 1 million on legal fees, possibly to pay for its own defense, using funds belonging to BLMGNF. "It appears they're funding their legal defense with other people's charitable donation money," he added.
La Tides Foundation es acusada de malversación de fondos y mala grstión financiera
The relationship between both organizations began in 2013, when BLMGNF needed a sponsoring organization to manage the funds it received, since at that time it did not yet have tax-exempt charitable status. Thus, BLMGNF chose Tides as its fiscal sponsor to channel donations to local chapters and other initiatives.
However, everything changed in 2020, after the overdose death of George Floyd, when BLM received a flood of donations, accumulating nearly USD 90 million between 2020 and 2022.
Although this figure is significant, it represents only a fraction of the money managed by Tides, which handles more than USD 1.4 billion in funds from multiple nonprofit organizations. According to the lawsuit, Tides mixes all the funds in a general account, making it difficult to track where the money from each affiliated organization goes.
Black Lives Matter eligió a la Tides Foundation para cnanalizar donaciones
"Tides doesn't segregate the funds. All my client's money is apparently in a common account, which is a very lax way of handling fiduciary funds," Segal stated.
In response, Tides stated that the fund in question "was created to support BLM chapters and other Black-led organizations, not a national organization based in Los Angeles." Tides also described the lawsuit as "baseless" and led by a single person who "doesn't represent the movement as a whole."
Despite its accusations against Tides, BLMGNF has also faced criticism for its internal handling of funds. Of the USD 90 million raised after Floyd's death, only USD 30 million was allocated to charitable purposes in the following two years, while USD 22 million was used for operating expenses, salaries, and investments.
In 2021, it was revealed that co-founder Patrisse Cullors acquired multiple real estate properties, which caused a scandal. Although Cullors denied having used BLM funds for her purchases, she resigned a month after the news became public. La cofundadora de BLM ha enfrentado duras acusaciones debido al mal manejo de fondos
Her brother, Paul Cullors, remains linked to the organization, earning more than USD 200,000 annually as head of security, according to federal documents.
Meanwhile, Tides is also under scrutiny by the House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Republican Jason Smith (Missouri). The committee accuses Tides of acting as a channel to fund anti-Israel protests on university campuses after the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, which led Smith to ask the IRS to revoke Tides's nonprofit status.
According to Smith, Tides has collaborated with organizations such as Students for Justice in Palestine and Adalah Justice Project, whom he accuses of inciting riots and promoting antisemitism.
Jason Smith, presidente del Comité de Medios y Arbitrios del Congreso
Tides has also received tens of millions of dollars from the Open Society Foundation, of progressive billionaire George Soros, according to public records.
The trial between BLMGNF and Tides is scheduled for August 2026, in what promises to be a key case on transparency and fund control in modern social activism.
