A Jamaican dancehall artiste reportedly received more than US$750,000 ($118 million) in PayPal transfers from a former Canadian non-profit executive accused of misappropriating over CAD$6 million in federal funds earmarked for Indigenous programmes, according to a lawsuit filed in Canada.

According to CBC News in Canada, the lawsuit filed on March 20 alleges that Melanie Desjarlais – a former financial director of the First Nations National Guardians Network – used the organiastion’s corporate credit cards to divert funds to personal expenses, including vacations, hockey games, and payments to the Jamaican musician through coins on TikTok.

The First Nations National Guardians Network is a federally funded non-profit that channels money to First Nations Guardian programmes on behalf of Environment and Climate Change Canada. It is based in Akwesasne, which is a Mohawk community that encompasses Ontario, Quebec and New York.

The allegations have so far not been tested in court, the news report informed.

“PayPal transactions records revealed more than $750,000 US was sent directly to Jamaican musician [name redacted], the court documents state,” CBC News reported, adding that “A further $2.78 million US was used to buy TikTok coins.”

The documents also note that Desjarlais and the Jamaican artiste “may have had a romantic relationship”. The Jamaican allegedly received payments that were tied to TikTok coin purchases.

CBC News, citing court records, explained that “the coins allow users to purchase virtual currency to send gifts to creators during livestreams”, and that these diamonds can be cashed out by the user as well as “used as a vehicle for money laundering,” court documents pointed out.

Observer Online has taken the decision not to publish the name of the artiste at this time.

The lawsuit claims Desjarlais made CAD$6.3 million in charges between August 2025 and March 2026, with nearly CAD$5 million paid to TikTok alone.

“The evidence suggests that the payments to TikTok were made for the purpose of laundering funds and diverting them to [the musician],” a motion brief dated March 30 stated, according to CBC.

Interestingly, credit card records reportedly showed that Desjarlais traveled to Jamaica twice – in October 2025 and January 2026, using the network’s funds.

PayPal transfers to the Jamaican dancehall artiste allegedly included messages such as “Happy early birthday!”

In addition, a CAD$5,000 payment to the Jamaican man had the message, “This is the last payment[,] the other one was an error. Love you and I’m sorry for everything.”

The First Nations National Guardians Network, a non-profit started in 2022, was tapped in 2024 to independently manage CAD$27.6 million in federal funding for 80 Indigenous Guardians initiatives. The programme trains and employs people to carry out conservation and research work on traditional lands.

After the executive director went on medical leave in August 2025, Desjarlais became the sole staff member with day-to-day control over finances, the lawsuit states. By late November 2025, regular payments to guardian programmes stopped “due to insufficient funds,” court documents say.

The allegations have prompted Ottawa to take over future distribution of the Indigenous Guardians funds.

A spokesperson for Environment and Climate Change Canada told CBC News that the Canadian government was informed of the allegations concerning “unauthorized financial transactions”, and is expanding its routine audit of the National Guardians Network.

Desjarlais, through her lawyer, declined to comment to reporters.

Meanwhile, the National Guardians Network’s lawyer, Matthew Sammon, told reporters that the organisation is “actively and aggressively pursuing recovery of the funds”.

It said, too, that the financial misconduct “stems from the actions of a single individual and does not reflect the values or mission of the [National Guardians Network].”

An injunction freezing Desjarlais’s worldwide assets was approved last month and extended by the court on April 2, CBC further reported.

The lawsuit seeks CAD$10 million in damages and restitution “for deceit, conversion, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment.”

Meanwhile, the case has raised concerns among Indigenous groups awaiting funding. Elder David Scott of Manitoba’s Swan Lake First Nation, who trains young guardians under the programme, told CBC, “That’s why this funding has been so important.”