A federal grand jury indictment was unsealed Thursday in Oklahoma City charging Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson with wire fraud and money laundering, U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester announced on Thursday.The press release announcing the indictment, from the office of the U.S. Attorney in the Western District of Oklahoma, says that “beginning in at least 2016, Dickerson served as the Executive Director of Black Lives Matter OKC (BLMOKC). As Executive Director, Dickerson had access to BLMOKC’s bank, PayPal, and Cash App accounts.
The indictment further says that “although BLMOKC was not a registered tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, it accepted charitable donations through its affiliation with the Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ), based in Arizona.”
The group raised more than $5.6 million.
“Despite the stated purpose of the money raised, and the terms and conditions of the grants, the Indictment alleges that beginning in June 2020 and continuing through at least October 2025, Dickerson embezzled funds from BLMOKC’s accounts for her personal benefit. The Indictment alleges Dickerson deposited at least $3.15 million in returned bail checks into her personal accounts, rather than into BLMOKC’s accounts. Among other things, Dickerson then used these funds to pay for:
recreational travel to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic for herself and her associates;
tens of thousands of dollars in retail shopping;
at least $50,000 in food and grocery deliveries for herself and her children;
a personal vehicle registered in her name; and
six real properties in Oklahoma City deeded in her own name or in the name Equity International, LLC, an entity she exclusively controlled.”