BISMARCK —
will admit to misappropriating state funds to businesses owned by family members.
Faith Monique Shields-Dixon, 46, signed an agreement on Oct. 1 that says she will plead guilty to three of five felony counts of theft. Prosecutors agreed to recommend she serve 11 months in jail, with the opportunity for work release, according to the agreement.
Shields-Dixon’s attorney, Dane DeKrey, will ask that the charges be reduced to misdemeanors, with a sentence of no less than four months in jail, according to the plea agreement.
The plea agreement also calls for the other two counts of theft to be dismissed. Burleigh County District Judge Bobbi Weiler must accept the plea agreement before it is finalized.
A change of plea hearing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Oct. 20 in Mandan, according to court records.
Anna Paige / Forum file photo
DeKrey and prosecutors have asked that Shields-Dixon’s sentencing hearing be scheduled for 90 days after she pleads guilty so she can find a job in Bismarck, according to court documents that requested the plea hearing. She initially requested to serve her time at the Cass County Jail in Fargo, but the jail doesn’t allow work release, according to court documents.
Shields-Dixon will surrender herself to jail custody immediately after she is sentenced, the document said.
Prosecutors in Burleigh County accused Shields-Dixon and her husband, Charles Dixon, 52, of Moorhead, of giving state grant money from the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction to Shields-Dixon’s family. She started a nonprofit in 2016 called the Faith4Hope Scholarship Fund, which was meant to help low-income families reach long-term independence, according to the organization’s website, which is no longer available.
Shields-Dixon applied for $1.5 million from the grant program in October 2021, according to court documents. North Dakota approved a three-year grant of $350,000 for Faith Shields-Dixon, but she received a partial amount, according to court documents.
Reimbursements showed $124,000 were allocated to businesses owned by Shields-Dixon’s family for service payments, according to court documents.
Those businesses included her husband’s food stand, Diezel Double Barrel BBQ; her brother’s music and production company, Revolution Records; and Be The Light Dance Studio, which is owned by Tekeema Shields, according to court documents.
By signing the plea agreement, Shields-Dixon admits to “knowingly” misappropriating funds to the three businesses “by using deception and violating the terms of the grant when applying for and receiving” the state funds. Charging documents said she agreed to pay Diezel Double Barrel BBQ $22,000 a year plus $12,000 for catering, as well as $38,000 to Be The Light and $50,000 to Revolution Records.
Charles Dixon also faces two felony theft charges. His trial is scheduled for Nov. 11.
Prosecutors filed charges against the couple in October 2024.
Shields-Dixon and her husband have lived in the Fargo-Moorhead area for more than 20 years. She is a prominent business owner and activist who fought for the rights and voices of people of color.
In a statement sent Wednesday to media after this story published, Shields-Dixon asked residents to “withhold judgment regarding the details of my case until my sentencing hearing.” Several media outlets wrote stories about the plea agreement.
Shields-Dixon claimed “some, but not all, of what was published was either misleading or inaccurate.”
“There, my attorneys and I will explain exactly what did and did not happen with respect to the grant funding I accepted from the city of Fargo and state of North Dakota,” she said in the statement. “Then — and only then — should anyone draw any conclusions about me, my family and the decisions I made in this matter.”
