FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, October 29, 2024
Former Executive Director of Brooklyn Non-Profit Indicted for
Allegedly Stealing Nearly $100,000 of Funds Meant for Indigent Bail Program
Led the OKRA Project, Which Aids Black Trans Individuals Across the U.S.;
When Questioned, She Allegedly Provided Fraudulent Bail Receipts
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that the former executive director of a Brooklyn-based non-profit aimed at supporting Black Trans people, has been indicted for grand larceny and falsifying business records for allegedly siphoning money purportedly meant to bail individuals out of jail and used it instead for personal expenses. When asked for proof of payment, the defendant allegedly submitted bail receipts for individuals who had not been arrested at that time.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “The theft of nonprofit funds deprives communities of critical resources, erodes public trust, and cheats donors who give in good faith. 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.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Dominique Morgan, 42, of Atlanta, Georgia. She was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on an indictment charging her with one count of second-degree grand larceny and 23 counts of first-degree falsifying business records. She was released without bail and ordered to return to court on December 18, 2024. The defendant is facing a maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison if convicted of the top count.
The District Attorney said that the defendant served as the Executive Director of the OKRA Project, a Brooklyn-based not-for-profit that provides mutual aid and other resources to the Black Trans community throughout the country. Her annual salary was over $200,000. While not an official program, the defendant, in her role as director, announced that OKRA would start bailing people out of jail, although she allegedly did not take any steps to get the initiative up and running.
It is alleged that between July 14, 2022, and July 27, 2022, the defendant had approximately $99,000 transferred to her personal account in order to purportedly use those funds to pay for bail. Instead, she used the money on a $19,000 California Closet renovation, car payments for a Mercedes Benz, purchases at apparel stores and other expenses including meals.
When asked by OKRA for proof of the payments toward bail, she allegedly submitted purported bail receipts for 23 individuals who were supposedly arrested in Fulton County, Georgia, and Douglas County, Nebraska. An audit by OKRA revealed that those receipts were fraudulent and that no such persons were arrested in those counties at the time.
The District Attorney thanked Supervising Financial Investigator Susan Ryan, of the District Attorney’s Asset Forfeiture and Crimes Against Revenue Bureau, and Intelligence Analyst Yacelys Corona, of the District Attorney’s Investigations Division, for their assistance in the investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Tamara Edelstein of the District Attorney’s Public Integrity Bureau, and Senior Assistant District Attorney Frank Ungerer of the District Attorney’s Frauds Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Adam Libove, Deputy Chief of the Public Integrity Bureau, and Assistant District Attorney Laura Neubauer, Bureau Chief, and under the overall supervision of Assistant District Attorney Michel Spanakos, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division, and Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill, Chief of Investigations.
#