BISMARCK — A judge has set bond for a well-known Fargo activist and her husband after they were accused of misusing state funds.
Burleigh County District Judge Bobbi Weiler ordered Faith Shields-Dixon, 45, and Charles Dixon, 51, to pay a $5,000 bond or 10% cash if they wanted to be released from the Cass County Jail on multiple theft charges. The Class B felony charges stem from allegations that the two
misappropriated state grant funds
that the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction gave to their nonprofit.
The charges that were filed last week in Bismarck alleged that the couple, through the Faith4Hope Scholarship Fund, gave the grant money to businesses owned by family members. Shields-Dixon and Dixon founded the nonprofit in 2016 as a way to help low-income families reach long-term independence, according to their website.
Faith4Hope received a three-year grant for $350,000 in January 2022, according to court documents. Reimbursements submitted in February 2022 showed $124,000 went to businesses owned by Shields-Dixon’s family to pay for services, according to court documents.
The North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation started looking into the nonprofit in September 2023, court documents said.
The Dixons have been open about their family members’ involvement in the nonprofit.
Shields-Dixon and Dixon were arrested and booked Monday into the Cass County Jail. They appeared Wednesday in Burleigh County District Court from the Fargo jail.
On Wednesday, Assistant North Dakota Attorney General Jeremy Ensrud asked Weiler to set Shields-Dixon’s bond at $25,000 and Dixon’s at $15,000, with both able to post 10% in cash. The prosecutor in the case noted the two did not have a criminal history.
“That is quite low for two Class B felonies,” he said.
The couple has lived in the Fargo-Moorhead area for 20 years, said Dane DeKrey, who is representing the two. They are not a flight risk and are pillars of the Black community, he added.
Shields-Dixon has actively fought in the Fargo-Moorhead area for equal treatment for people of color.
“She’s been well-known for a number of years,” DeKrey said of Shields-Dixon.
The couple has been working through a law firm with the state to resolve the grant issue civilly, DeKrey said. Shields-Dixon and Dixon are not admitting guilt and have a defense, DeKrey added.
Shields-Dixon is the primary defendant in the case, meaning that her bond should be higher, Ensrud said.
DeKrey disagreed. Shields-Dixon should have the same ability to be released from jail as her husband, the defense attorney said.
“This case does not involve violence or danger in any way,” DeKrey said.
DeKrey asked that bond be set no higher than $5,000 with 10% for cash, and as low as no bond with the promise to appear.
“I’m looking to move forward and fight this case,” Shields-Dixon said in court.
Dixon declined to comment in court.
A four-day trial has been scheduled to begin Feb. 11, 2025.
