Accused of embezzling millions of dollars in charitable donations intended for bail funds and social justice initiatives and using the funds to finance an extravagant personal lifestyle, the executive director of Black Lives Matter Oklahoma faces dozens of federal charges.
A grand jury charged Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson, 52, with 20 counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering on December 3, according to a recently unsealed federal indictment.
“Dickerson faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count of wire fraud,” the Department of Justice said in a statement. “Dickerson faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the amount of the criminally derived property involved in the transaction, for each count of money laundering.”
Dickerson allegedly transferred more than $3.5 million from Black Lives Matter Oklahoma (BLMOKC) accounts into her personal bank accounts, according to federal prosecutors. According to the indictment, she spent the money on trips to the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, six properties in Oklahoma City, luxury shopping worth tens of thousands of dollars, and more than $50,000 on grocery and food deliveries for her family.
According to the indictment, Dickerson embezzled money from BLMOKC’s accounts for her own gain starting in June 2020 and continuing at least until October 2025. “Rather than depositing returned bail checks into BLMOKC’s accounts, Dickerson deposited at least $3.15 million into her personal accounts.”
Since the Black Lives Matter movement and its affiliates raised hundreds of millions of dollars after George Floyd’s death in 2020, this case represents one of the biggest fraud prosecutions to come out of the movement.
Prosecutors claim that during the 2020 demonstrations, BLMOKC raised over $5.6 million from national bail funds and online donors. The money, which was primarily from the Massachusetts Bail Fund, the Minnesota Freedom Fund, and the Community Justice Exchange, was meant to support “racial justice” initiatives and bail out demonstrators.
According to the indictment, BLMOKC raised funds under the fiscal sponsorship of the Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ), a left-wing nonprofit with headquarters in Arizona, despite not being a registered nonprofit. As the fiscal sponsor, AFGJ mandated that BLMOKC only use its money for charitable purposes allowed by Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) and that it furnish complete accounting upon request.
Rather, Dickerson “submitted two false annual reports to AFGJ” through interstate wire communications, according to the prosecution, which hid her personal use of the money.
The indictment states that she “reported that she had used BLMOKC funds only for tax-exempt purposes.” “She failed to reveal that she utilized money for her own gain.”
Dickerson allegedly transferred over $3 million in returned bail checks into her personal accounts, according to federal agents. She then utilized the funds to finance a lavish lifestyle that included six Oklahoma City real estate properties registered in her name or under Equity International, LLC, a shell corporation under her control, tens of thousands of dollars in retail shopping and designer goods, over $50,000 in restaurant and grocery deliveries, and leisure trips to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic.
The indictment details a multi-year scheme in which Dickerson repeatedly misled AFGJ and donors about the use of BLMOKC funds. Prosecutors wrote, “Dickerson used those funds for personal enrichment, even though BLMOKC was supposed to use national bail fund grants to post pretrial bail for individuals arrested in connection with protests for racial justice after George Floyd’s death.”
Dickerson could spend decades in federal prison if found guilty on all counts. The indictment “reflects a commitment to holding accountable anyone who exploits the public’s trust for personal gain — regardless of their politics or position,” according to U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester, who made the charges public on Wednesday.
The case is one of many corruption scandals involving national and local leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement. Due to alleged donation misuse, a number of BLM-affiliated organizations have been the subject of lawsuits or criminal charges in recent years.
