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The manager director of Black Lives Matter (BLM) Oklahoma Metropolis (OKC) has been charged with wire fraud and cash laundering after federal prosecutors say she diverted greater than $3.15 million in returned bail checks into her private financial institution accounts over a five-year interval, in keeping with an indictment unsealed Thursday.
Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson, 52, of Oklahoma Metropolis, is accused of routing cash supposed for the group’s bail fund and social justice packages into accounts she managed between June 2020 and October 2025.
The indictment says Dickerson used the cash “for her private profit,” together with journey to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, “tens of hundreds of {dollars} in retail procuring,” greater than $50,000 in meals deliveries, a car and 6 actual properties.
In line with a Division of Justice (DOJ) press launch protecting the indictment, BLM OKC raised greater than $5.6 million starting in 2020, together with main grants from the Group Justice Trade, the Massachusetts Bail Fund and the Minnesota Freedom Fund.
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The Rev. T. Sheri Dickerson, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter in Oklahoma Metropolis, speaks throughout a rally outdoors the Stillwater Police Division in Stillwater, Okla. (AP Photograph/Sue Ogrocki, File)
These organizations routed a lot of the cash by means of the Alliance for International Justice (AFGJ), which served as BLM OKC’s fiscal sponsor and required that each one funds be used for tax-exempt functions permitted below Part 501(c)(3). AFGJ additionally prohibited actual property purchases with out its approval and required BLM OKC to totally account for expenditures upon request.
Prosecutors say Dickerson as an alternative deposited at the least $3.15 million in returned bail checks into her private accounts “quite than into BLMOKC’s accounts” and used interstate wires to submit two annual reviews to AFGJ that “didn’t disclose” her private use of funds. These reviews mentioned the group’s cash had been used just for tax-exempt functions.
Dickerson served because the group’s government director starting in at the least 2016 and had entry to BLM OKC’s financial institution, PayPal and CashApp accounts, in keeping with the indictment.
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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., left, and Black Lives Matter Oklahoma Metropolis chief Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson pose for a selfie. (Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson through Fb)
Prosecutors allege the misconduct started in the course of the interval when nationwide bail funds allowed BLM OKC to retain parts of returned bail cash to construct a revolving bail fund or help its said mission.
In 2022, Black Lives Matter International Community Basis, a separate nationwide group not affiliated with BLM OKC, got here below scrutiny after New York Journal reported that it had bought a $6 million California property utilizing donor funds.
Inside memos confirmed senior leaders discussing handle questions on the home, which the group mentioned was supposed to function inventive and group area. The reporting ignited debate on the time over monetary transparency and oversight inside nationwide BLM-associated organizations.
When contacted about Dickerson’s fees, a Black Lives Matter International Community Basis spokesperson mentioned BLM practices a “mannequin of decentralized management.”
“The Black Lives Matter International Community Basis operates independently from native chapters, and the native chapters function independently of the Basis. The Basis stays dedicated to transparency and integrity, and disrupting what philanthropy appears to be like like in service of Black individuals,” the spokesperson mentioned.
Picture of “Spirit Rock” painted with a Black Lives Matter message. (Alliance Defending Freedom)
A federal grand jury returned a 25-count indictment Dec. 3 charging Dickerson with 20 counts of wire fraud and 5 counts of cash laundering. She faces as much as 20 years in federal jail for every wire fraud rely and as much as 10 years for every money-laundering rely, together with potential fines of as much as $250,000 per cost.
All fees are merely allegations and Dickerson is presumed harmless until confirmed responsible. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Oklahoma Metropolis Area Workplace and IRS Legal Investigation.
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Fox Information Digital has reached out to Black Lives Matter OKC and the Alliance for International Justice for remark.
Fox Information correspondent David Spunt and Fox Information Digital’s Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.
