BLM leader charged with fraud and money laundering, mishandling over $5.6 million in funds.
The leader of the Oklahoma City chapter of BLM was just charged by the Department of Justice with wire fraud and money laundering.
Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson was executive director of Black Lives Matter OKC (BLMOKC) and, therefore, was able to access its financial accounts on PayPal and Cash App. The DOJ detailed the charges against Dickerson and her organization in a press release on Thursday.
Not only did BLMOKC not use the money it received for bail funds for that purpose, but the organization also received substantial charitable donations, despite not being officially registered as a tax-exempt charity organization, per the DOJ. BLMOKC used its affiliation and sponsorship with Arizona-based Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ) to receive charitable donations, despite its non-charity status.
In exchange, AFGJ insisted that BLMOKC be willing to account for how the charitable donations were used and insisted its consent be required if the partner organization wished to purchase any real estate. Dickerson violated that agreement.
The Department of Justice explained how the fraud and money laundering came in:
Beginning in late spring 2020, BLMOKC raised funds to support its social justice mission from online donors, as well as from national bail funds.
