OKLAHOMA CITY — Black Lives Matter OKC leader calls herself an “unpaid protester,” but the Oklahoma City-based Baptist preacher allegedly paid herself with millions in donations meant to help protestors post bail after their arrests, according to a federal indictment.
The allegations are just the latest in a series of financial scandals for the network of BLM civil rights groups, as various leaders across the country have been accused of misappropriating some $8.64 million.
Federal prosecutors unsealed the 25-count indictment last week, accusing Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson, a longtime leader of Black Lives Matter Oklahoma City, of diverting millions of dollars raised after the 2020 racial justice protests into personal accounts and spending the money on travel, retail purchases, food deliveries and real estate.
Dickerson, 52, is charged with 20 counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma. Authorities said a federal grand jury returned the indictment on December 3, 2025.
Prosecutors allege that Dickerson, who served as executive director of BLM OKC since at least 2016, had access to the group’s bank and payment accounts and began embezzling funds in June 2020, continuing through at least October 2025. The indictment alleges she deposited at least $3.15 million in returned bail checks into her personal accounts instead of BLM OKC’s accounts.
Those funds were tied to donations and grants intended to support bail for people arrested during protests after the killing of George Floyd in 2020, according to the indictment and reporting on the case. In total, prosecutors allege BLM OKC raised more than $5.6 million dating back to 2020, much of it through online donations and bail-fund related sources.
The Justice Department says Dickerson used the allegedly misdirected money for personal benefit, including recreational travel to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, 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, and six Oklahoma City properties deeded in her name or in the name of an entity she controlled.
The indictment also alleges Dickerson submitted false annual reports to the Arizona-based Alliance for Global Justice, which served as a fiscal sponsor that collected donations on behalf of BLM OKC, stating the funds were used only for tax-exempt purposes while failing to disclose personal spending.
In a live video posted to social media, Dickerson said she was not in custody and could not comment officially on the case, according to the Associated Press. Court records cited by the AP did not list an attorney for Dickerson.
If convicted, Dickerson faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each wire fraud count and up to 10 years on each money laundering count, along with potential fines, prosecutors said. The FBI’s Oklahoma City Field Office and IRS Criminal Investigation are leading the investigation, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
