The former NAACP official who shocked people around the world when it was discovered that she had posed for years as a black woman was booked into jail Monday to face charges of welfare fraud.
Authorities in Washington charged Nkechi Diallo, better known as Rachel Dolezal, with first-degree theft by welfare fraud, second-degree perjury and false verification for public assistance in May, according to court documents obtained by KHQ-TV. She has pleaded not guilty, The Spokesman-Review reported.
She was booked into Spokane County Jail and released on Monday afternoon, according to KREM.
Court records show Diallo is accused of lying about her income to get more than $8,000 in public assistance from August 2015 to November 2017. Investigators said Diallo got food assistance from the government despite making more than $83,000 in unreported self-employment income.
Diallo told officials with Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services that she was making just $300 per month in gifts from friends, according to court records. Authorities launched an investigation in March 2017 after learning that Diallo had published a book without reporting a change in her income, court records show.
Authorities said their investigation revealed that, aside from the income from her book “In Full Color: Finding My Place in a Black and White World,” Diallo also failed to report her income from speaking engagements, soap making, doll making and the sale of artwork she created.
Diallo's trial is set for Sept. 10, KREM reported.
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