Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson, 52, executive director of the Oklahoma City chapter of Black Lives Matter (BLM OKC), has been charged with serious financial crimes. A federal grand jury has charged her with 20 counts of wire fraud and 5 counts of money laundering, in connection with the alleged misappropriation of at least $3.15 million in donations intended for charitable purposes.
According to the indictment, Dickerson, who has led BLM OKC since at least 2016, used funds raised by the organization through fiscal sponsorship by the Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ) in Arizona. The organization raised more than $5.6 million from 2020 onward, mainly from online donors and national bail funds, intended to pay bail for people arrested during racial justice protests following the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minnesota.
Prosecutors allege that Dickerson deposited returned bail checks into her personal bank accounts, instead of transferring them to BLM OKC accounts. She also allegedly submitted false annual reports to AFGJ, assuring it that the funds were used exclusively for tax-exempt purposes. The scheme ran from June 2020 until at least October 2025.
The funds she allegedly misappropriated were used to finance a luxurious lifestyle. The listed expenses include recreational trips to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic for herself and associates, tens of thousands of dollars in retail shopping, at least $50,000 on food and grocery deliveries for herself and her children, the purchase of a personal vehicle registered in her name, and six properties in Oklahoma City that were titled either in her name or in the name of Equity International LLC, which she alone controlled.
If Dickerson is found guilty, she faces up to 20 years in prison on each wire fraud count and up to 10 years on each money laundering count, plus fines of up to $250,000 or twice the amount of the misappropriated funds for each offense.
In response to the charges, Dickerson posted a live video on her Facebook page on Thursday afternoon, in which she said she was not in custody and felt “good.” “I cannot make an official comment on what happened today,” she said, adding: “I am at home. I am safe. I trust our team.” She also suggested that the accusations may be proof that “you are doing the work,” which is often met with attacks.
The case fits into a broader context of financial controversies surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement. Local chapters, such as BLM OKC, operate independently of the national organization, but similar allegations have previously emerged in other chapters, raising questions about the transparency of managing funds collected during the 2020 protests.
Source: Justice.gov
