Black Lives Matter Leader Indicted for $2.35 Million Wire Fraud, Faces Up to 450 Years in Prison
In the aftermath of 2020’s summer of rage, millions of well-meaning Americans opened their wallets to support what they believed was a righteous cause. They were told their donations would post bail for protesters, fund community programs, and advance racial justice.
And as a result, the money poured in like a righteous flood, over $5.6 million in Oklahoma City alone.
But behind the passionate speeches and protest banners, something else was happening… While donors imagined their contributions freeing wrongfully detained protesters, while they pictured community centers rising from their generosity, a very different story was unfolding.
The movement that captured America’s conscience—and its checkbook—promised transformation. In Oklahoma City, where protesters faced terrorism charges for their activism, the local Black Lives Matter chapter positioned itself as a lifeline. Executive Director Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson, who also goes by Reverend T. Sheri Dickerson, stood at the helm of this mission, managing millions in bail funds meant to support the cause.
Now, a federal grand jury has charged Dickerson with 20 counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering. Prosecutors allege she diverted at least $2.35 million in returned bail checks into her personal accounts between June 2020 and October 2025.
If convicted on all counts, she faces up to 450 years in federal prison and fines exceeding $7.5 million. Let that sink in for a moment. Four hundred and fifty years. That’s not a typo.
You want to know where your donation went? The indictment reads like a personal shopping list funded by charity: Federal prosecutors detail lavish trips to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, tens of thousands spent at Nordstrom and Macy’s, over $50,000 in food and grocery deliveries, a 2021 Hyundai Palisade, and six Oklahoma City properties—including a $278,000 church she put in her own name rather than the organization’s.
These weren’t small indiscretions or accounting errors. While making approximately $4.5 million in bail payments for defendants in 2020, Dickerson allegedly kept $3.5 million when those funds were returned as cases concluded. The money was supposed to establish a revolving bail fund or support BLM’s tax-exempt charitable mission. Instead, prosecutors say, it became a personal slush fund.
The betrayal cuts deeper when you consider the source of these funds. National bail organizations like the Massachusetts Bail Fund and Minnesota Freedom Fund sent millions specifically to free protesters arrested during racial justice demonstrations.
These weren’t wealthy philanthropists writing blank checks; many donations came from ordinary Americans moved by the images of protests and promises of change. Remember writing that check, thinking you were helping protesters? Turns out you were funding someone’s Nordstrom habit.
And as a result, the money poured in like a righteous flood, over $5.6 million in Oklahoma City alone.
But behind the passionate speeches and protest banners, something else was happening… While donors imagined their contributions freeing wrongfully detained protesters, while they pictured community centers rising from their generosity, a very different story was unfolding.
The movement that captured America’s conscience—and its checkbook—promised transformation. In Oklahoma City, where protesters faced terrorism charges for their activism, the local Black Lives Matter chapter positioned itself as a lifeline. Executive Director Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson, who also goes by Reverend T. Sheri Dickerson, stood at the helm of this mission, managing millions in bail funds meant to support the cause.
Now, a federal grand jury has charged Dickerson with 20 counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering. Prosecutors allege she diverted at least $2.35 million in returned bail checks into her personal accounts between June 2020 and October 2025.
If convicted on all counts, she faces up to 450 years in federal prison and fines exceeding $7.5 million. Let that sink in for a moment. Four hundred and fifty years. That’s not a typo.
You want to know where your donation went? The indictment reads like a personal shopping list funded by charity: Federal prosecutors detail lavish trips to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, tens of thousands spent at Nordstrom and Macy’s, over $50,000 in food and grocery deliveries, a 2021 Hyundai Palisade, and six Oklahoma City properties—including a $278,000 church she put in her own name rather than the organization’s.
These weren’t small indiscretions or accounting errors. While making approximately $4.5 million in bail payments for defendants in 2020, Dickerson allegedly kept $3.5 million when those funds were returned as cases concluded. The money was supposed to establish a revolving bail fund or support BLM’s tax-exempt charitable mission. Instead, prosecutors say, it became a personal slush fund.
The betrayal cuts deeper when you consider the source of these funds. National bail organizations like the Massachusetts Bail Fund and Minnesota Freedom Fund sent millions specifically to free protesters arrested during racial justice demonstrations.
These weren’t wealthy philanthropists writing blank checks; many donations came from ordinary Americans moved by the images of protests and promises of change. Remember writing that check, thinking you were helping protesters? Turns out you were funding someone’s Nordstrom habit.
70-79, M
