Major Democratic fundraiser sentenced to prison for embezzling taxpayer-funded nonprofit

A federal court sentenced a major Democratic fundraiser, donor and former nonprofit executive to prison for using money from his taxpayer-funded nonprofit to indulge his lavish lifestyle, it was announced Tuesday in at night the Department of Justice.

Dixon Slingerland directed the Youth Policy Institute (YPI), a federally funded nonprofit aimed at reducing poverty in Los Angeles, from 1996 to 2019 and served as a fundraiser for former President Barack Obama and the former Democratic mayor of Los Angeles. Slingerland used his organization's resources to cover his property taxes, to pay for a $6,000 dinner in New York City, to hire an $11,000 private tutor as a family guardian, and to buy nearly $2,000 in computer software and hardware. seconds to the DOJ.

Slingerland was sentenced to six months in prison, ordered to pay $750,470 in fines and 200 hours of community service.

The DOJ says Slingerland embezzled a total of $600,000 in grants. Most of the grant that YPI received came from the federal government, seconds in Slingerland's plea agreement.

YPI received tens of millions of dollars from the federal government between 2006 and 2019, seconds to a public expenditure database.

Much of the federal grant money Slingerland's nonprofit received was disbursed during the Obama administration, a president for whom Slingerland was a major fundraiser.

The New York Times included Slingerland on a list he compiled of Obama's top fundraisers. He raised $743,713 for Obama between 2007 and 2012, according to the NYT.

Slingerland made several trips to the White House when Obama was in office, the Los Angeles Times reported

He was also heavily involved in political fundraising in Democratic-dominated Los Angeles. Slingerland co-hosted at least six fundraising events in the city for former Democratic Mayor Eric Garcetti, the Los Angeles Times reported.

He also gave tens of thousands of dollars to Los Angeles city officials who oversaw his organization's programs, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Slingerland gave a significant amount of his own money to Democratic causes. He gave more than $100,000 to Democratic candidates and committees between 2006 and 2020, seconds to a database of the Federal Electoral Commission.

As president of YPI, Slingerland was the personal guarantor for the organization's credit card and had the authority to sign checks against the organization's funds, according to the DOJ. He was paid a salary of almost $400,000 as head of YPI, seconds to tax documents.

The DOJ told the Daily Caller News Foundation it had no further comment.

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