Six homes, Caribbean vacations and a new SUV: How Oklahoma pastor spent $3.15M of ’embezzled’ BLM OKC cash
Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson, a leader of Black Lives Matter Oklahoma City who described herself online as an “unpaid protester,” has been charged in federal court with fraud and money laundering, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday. Prosecutors allege the Baptist preacher used millions of dollars in donations—intended to help protesters post bail—for personal expenses.
The charges are part of a broader federal investigation into financial misconduct involving multiple Black Lives Matter–affiliated organizations nationwide. Authorities say leaders across various chapters are accused of misappropriating a combined $8.64 million in donations.
Dickerson, 52, allegedly diverted at least $3.15 million from national bail funds and donations to BLM OKC by depositing returned bail checks into her personal bank accounts. According to the indictment, she used the money to fund vacations to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic and to purchase six properties in Oklahoma City valued at more than $500,000.
Prosecutors also allege Dickerson spent nearly $42,000 in cash on a 2021 Hyundai Palisade and tens of thousands of dollars at retailers including Nordstrom, Macy’s, and Best Buy. The indictment further details thousands of dollars spent on groceries and food deliveries through services such as Instacart and DoorDash.
Dickerson frequently shared photos of her travels on social media, including images from Jamaica in December 2021 and from a Delta Airlines flight in June 2025. In another post, she appeared alongside Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar.
Her social media accounts also feature posts praising extremist figures such as Assata Shakur, a former Black Liberation Army member convicted in the 1977 killing of a New Jersey state trooper.
State records show Dickerson purchased the six properties between 2021 and 2022 under her own name and through Equity International LLC, a company she controls but which is no longer active. One property labeled as “church property” was allegedly intended for BLM OKC use but was placed solely in her name.
Dickerson founded BLM OKC in 2016 and is listed as an associate minister at Church of the Open Arms, a United Church of Christ congregation in Oklahoma City that has previously held fundraisers for Black Lives Matter. Calls to the church were not returned.
Court records indicate Dickerson holds minister credentials from the Universal Life Church. She has also served as Affirmative Action Chair of the Oklahoma Democratic Party and ran unsuccessfully for Oklahoma City Council in 2017.
BLM OKC was never registered with the IRS as a tax-exempt organization. Instead, donations were routed through fiscal sponsors, including the Arizona-based Alliance for Global Justice and the Tides Center. Federal prosecutors allege returned bail funds sent through these organizations were ultimately deposited into Dickerson’s personal accounts.
In a Facebook livestream following the announcement of the charges, Dickerson dismissed the allegations, saying critics were targeting her because of her activism.
Dickerson is not the only Black Lives Matter–associated figure accused of misusing donor funds. Sir Maejor Page, who founded a fraudulent BLM group in Ohio, was convicted last year of defrauding donors of more than $450,000 and sentenced to 42 months in prison.
The national Black Lives Matter organization has also faced scrutiny. In 2021, reports revealed that co-founder Patrisse Cullors authorized payments to family members and associates totaling millions of dollars. Cullors later resigned amid the controversy.
The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, which raised tens of millions of dollars following the 2020 death of George Floyd, is currently under investigation by the Department of Justice. Federal authorities have issued subpoenas and search warrants as part of an ongoing probe into alleged misuse of donor funds.
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