A senior Black Lives Matter (BLM) leader in Oklahoma City has been hit with a massive 25-count federal indictment over what prosecutors describe as an embezzlement scheme that stretched for years.
Federal authorities say Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson, the executive director of Black Lives Matter OKC, stole millions of dollars meant for bail funds and used the money to bankroll her personal lifestyle.
U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester announced that a grand jury returned the indictment on December 3, charging Dickerson with 20 counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering.
Prosecutors say Dickerson had access to BLM OKC’s bank accounts, PayPal accounts, and Cash App accounts beginning in at least 2016, giving her full control over the group’s finances.
BLM OKC was not a registered tax-exempt nonprofit but raised its money through the Arizona-based Alliance for Global Justice, which acted as a fiscal sponsor and required the group to follow federal rules.
AFGJ told BLM OKC it had to use funds only for tax-exempt purposes and prohibited the purchase of real estate without approval, a condition Dickerson allegedly ignored.
After the George Floyd riots in 2020, BLM OKC raised more than $5.6 million from national bail groups and online donors, money that prosecutors say was meant to help people arrested during protests, as Trending Politics reported.
According to the indictment, the group was supposed to use returned bail money to continue building a revolving bail fund or support its mission, but Dickerson allegedly saw an opportunity to enrich herself.
Troester says Dickerson deposited roughly $3.15 million in bail refund checks into her personal account rather than BLM OKC’s accounts, violating federal law and the terms of the grants.
Prosecutors say she then used the stolen money for vacations to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, shopping sprees, $50,000 worth of grocery deliveries, and a personal vehicle titled in her name.
The indictment also alleges she purchased six Oklahoma City properties, putting the deeds either in her own name or under an entity she controlled called Equity International, LLC.
Dickerson is accused of filing two false annual reports to AFGJ, claiming that all funds were used for tax-exempt purposes while hiding the millions she diverted for personal use.
Prosecutors say those filings were submitted through interstate wire communications, forming the basis for several of the wire fraud counts.
Each wire fraud charge carries up to 20 years in federal prison and a potential $250,000 fine, setting up the possibility of a staggering sentence if Dickerson is convicted.
Each money laundering charge carries up to ten years and a similar quarter-million-dollar fine, or potentially double the amount of the criminal proceeds involved in the transactions.
