*Rachel Dolezal Pleads ‘Not Guilty” In Court Amid Welfare Fraud Wrangle
Rachel Dolezal, who stepped down from the NAACP in 2015 after she was exposed impersonating a Black woman, appeared in court on Wednesday and plead not guilty to welfare fraud.
Dolezal, who changed her name to Nkechi Diallo was charged with false verification of public assistance and accused of not reporting her income she received as the former president of the NAACP chapter. The woman reportedly enjoyed welfare benefits and refused to disclose her “In Full Color” book earnings along with other streams of income.
The case begin in March 2017 when investigators learned Diallo reported her income as less than $500 per month according to court documents obtained by WJLA. However, authorities subpoenaed the woman and discovered nearly $84,000 in deposits from 2015-2017 that was not fully reported to the state Department of Social and Health Services.
Diallo’s income resulted from soap and doll making, her memoir and other businesses according to legal files. However, she reported a “change of circumstance” to the state for a one-time gig she conducted worth $20,000 in October 2017.
The state is now asking for the $8,800 she’s been accused of stealing. The Superior Court Judge James Triplet ordered Diallo remain free with her trial date set for Sept. 10.
The 40-year-old woman who identifies as Black, was exposed of being born to white parents in rural Montana. She faced major backlash and lost her job teaching African Studies at Eastern Washington University in 2015.
