US Black Lives Matter exec accused of using donations for Jamaica trip and luxury spending

A trip to Jamaica with friends was among the expenses a Black Lives Matter (BLM) executive paid for with money she allegedly embezzled from the American social justice movement, authorities in the United States have announced.

Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson, 52, executive director of BLM Oklahoma (BLMOKC) is facing charges of 20 counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering for allegedly diverting US$3.2 million from the group to her personal accounts between June 2020 and October this year.

The money came from online donations to BLMOKC’s social justice mission and a national bail fund operated by the non-profit entity Alliance for Global Justice (AFJ), based in Arizona.

The allegations were disclosed in an indictment that was unsealed by the US Department of Justice on Thursday.

Dickerson has denied the allegations, saying the money was not used for her personal benefit.

Since late 2020, BLMOKC raised more than US$5.6 million for its social justice initiatives through grants from groups like Community Justice Exchange, Massachusetts Bail Fund and Minnesota Freedom Fund, according to the indictment.

The funds were intended to be used by BLMOKC to post pre-trial bail for individuals arrested during protests for racial justice following the 2020 killing of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

When bail funds are returned to BLMOKC by authorities, donors would allow the social justice group to keep all or a portion of the donation to fund its programs.

But according to the indictment, over a five-year period starting in June 2020, Dickerson diverted approximately US$3.15 million in returned bail cheques to her personal account.

The money was used to pay for trips to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic for Dickerson and her associates, the indictment alleges.

It claimed, too, that the money was used to purchase six real estate properties in Oklahoma City in her name and in the name of a private company which she “exclusively controlled”.

The money was also used to purchase at least US$50,000 in groceries for Dickerson and her children; a personal vehicle registered in her name and “thousands of dollars in retail shopping”, the indictment alleges.

She allegedly used interstate wire communications to submit two false annual reports to AFJ.

She faces up to 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and ten years for each count of money laundering.

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