The former executive director of a Brooklyn nonprofit dedicated to helping Black transgender people stole nearly $100,000 from the group and spent it on Mercedes-Benz payments, a home renovation and other personal expenses, prosecutors said on Tuesday.
The former official, Dominique Morgan, siphoned money from the organization, the Okra Project, that she said would be used to pay bail for indigent defendants, prosecutors said.
Ms. Morgan, herself a Black trans woman, was charged in an indictment with one count of second-degree grand larceny and 23 counts of first-degree falsifying business records.
“The theft of nonprofit funds deprives communities of critical resources, erodes public trust and cheats donors who give in good faith,” Eric Gonzalez, the Brooklyn district attorney, said in announcing the charges.
Ms. Morgan, a 42-year-old Omaha native who now lives in Atlanta, pleaded not guilty at an arraignment in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn. She was released without bail and is scheduled to return to court in December. She faces five to 15 years in prison if convicted on the grand larceny count. Her lawyer did not respond to a call seeking comment.
An email seeking comment from the Okra Project, which describes itself on its website as a mutual aid group focused on the “nourishment and sustenance” of Black transgender people across the United States, was not returned.
