OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA – The leader of Black Lives Matter in Oklahoma City, Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday over allegations that she misused millions of dollars in grant funds for personal expenses. Dickerson, 52, faces 20 counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering, according to court documents.
The indictment alleges that Dickerson, who has served as executive director of Black Lives Matter OKC since at least 2016, redirected at least $3.15 million from charitable donations and bail funds into personal accounts. Prosecutors say the funds, which BLM OKC raised primarily online and through national bail funds meant to assist individuals arrested during racial justice protests after George Floyd’s death in 2020, were instead spent on international travel to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, retail purchases, a personal vehicle, over $50,000 in groceries for herself and her children, and six properties in Oklahoma City owned either by her or by a company she controlled. She is also accused of submitting false annual reports claiming the funds were used solely for tax-exempt purposes.
If convicted, Dickerson could face up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 for each wire fraud count, and 10 years and additional fines for each money laundering charge. In a Facebook Live video Thursday, Dickerson said she was at home and safe, declining to comment in detail on the indictment but asserting confidence in her legal team. She added that facing allegations of this nature is sometimes evidence of “doing the work” she believes in. Black Lives Matter first gained national attention in 2013 following the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s killer and became a prominent movement after Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. Federal authorities are separately investigating broader allegations of donor fraud within the movement, though there is no indication that Dickerson’s indictment is directly connected to that probe.