Brandon D. Anderson, an anti-police activist and the founder of the charity Raheem AI, is being sued by Washington, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb for allegedly misusing charitable funds and violating workers’ rights and nonprofit regulations.
In a statement, Schwalb claimed Anderson misused more than $75,000 in donations for personal costs, such as a luxurious Cancun vacation, shopping trips at upscale shops, and other items.
Anderson created Raheem AI in 2017 to provide essential tools, training, connections and funding to black, brown, and indigenous community crisis responders to provide care. It announced that it was creating an emergency dispatch app that would replace the need to dial 911 to assist community crisis responders in Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities.
However, The New York Times reports that the app initiative and other tech projects announced by the organization failed in the end, despite receiving over $4.3 million in donations.
According to the lawsuit, Anderson has been embezzling Raheem AI’s money since 2021. He has allegedly spent over $40,000 on renting a luxury mansion and penthouse, $10,000 on personal travel, including the trip to Cancun, and $10,000 on a “clothing allowance” at upscale stores like Saks, Bottega Veneta, and Alexander McQueen. The cost of emergency veterinary care was an extra $5,000.
With Raheem AI’s board operating without a treasurer since 2020, Anderson allegedly had unfettered access to the nonprofit’s funds because of the lack of financial controls, which Schwalb criticized.
Schwalb said, “The Raheem AI Board of Directors allowed Brandon Anderson to get away with misusing charitable donations to finance extravagant vacations and shopping sprees.” He highlighted his office’s dedication to holding people accountable for misusing nonprofit resources.
In addition, the lawsuit claimed that Anderson was put on administrative leave in April 2024 when Raheem AI’s Deputy Director notified the Board of his unlawful actions.
Despite her prolonged employment, the Deputy Director has not received the tens of thousands of dollars in earned salary that she is due from Anderson and Raheem AI.
Jasmine Banks, who has since left Raheem AI, stated that she discovered Anderson’s suspicious expenses after the company stopped paying her wages.
The lawsuit alleges that Banks was pushed into signing an illegal noncompete agreement as part of her employment.
“It hurts my heart to say it, but I think it was a con from the beginning,” Banks told The New York Times in August.
The complaint filed by the DC Attorney General claims several infractions, including the Ban on Noncompete Agreements Act, the Wage Payment and Collection Law, and the District’s Nonprofit Corporation Act.
According to OAG’s lawsuit, these actions violate the District’s Nonprofit Corporation Act (NCA), Wage Payment and Collection Law (WPCL), and Ban on Noncompete Agreements Act (BNA).
In this case, OAG is requesting a court order to dissolve Raheem AI as a District nonprofit corporation, recover misappropriated funds and allocate them to suitable charitable purposes. It also wants the court to permanently prohibit Anderson from holding any position as an officer or director of any District nonprofit, pay the Deputy Director of Raheem AI the wages she is due plus damages, and penalize the District for each WCPL violation.
Despite the serious accusations, Anderson has not responded to media requests for comment.
According to Echoing Green before starting Raheem, Anderson was in the army for five years, doing two tours in Iraq as a satellite engineer before earning a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Georgetown University.
