Federal grand jury indicts leader black lives matter movement Oklahoma City alleges millions of dollars in grant funds were improperly spent on international travel, groceries and personal real estate, prosecutors announced Thursday.
Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson, 52, was indicted earlier this month on 20 counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering, court records show.
Court records did not name Dixon’s attorney, and messages left Thursday at her cell phone number and email were not immediately returned.
According to the indictment, Dixon has been the executive director of Black Lives Matter OKC since at least 2016, and the organization receives charitable donations through its relationship with the Arizona-based Global Justice Alliance.
In total, BLM OKC has raised more than $5.6 million since 2020, primarily from online donors and the National Bail Fund, which is supposed to provide bail for individuals arrested as a result of racial justice protests. George Floyd was killed The indictment alleges that in 2020, a Minnesota police officer committed the act.
The indictment alleges that when those bail bonds were returned to BLM OKC, Dixon diverted at least $3.15 million into her personal accounts and then used the money to pay for trips to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, retail shopping expenses, at least $50,000 in food and groceries for herself and her children, a personal vehicle and six properties in Oklahoma City that were transferred to her or companies she controlled.
The indictment also accuses her of filing false annual reports to the league, stating that the funds were used only for tax-exempt purposes.
If convicted, Dickson faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on each count of wire fraud, and 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on each count of money laundering.
Dixon posted a video of the scene on her Facebook page Thursday afternoon, saying she was not detained and was “fine.”
“I cannot comment formally on what happened today,” she said. “I’m home. I’m safe. I have confidence in our team.”
“A lot of times when people come to you with these types of things … it’s proof that you’re doing the work,” she continued. “That’s where I stand.”
The Black Lives Matter movement first took off in 2013 following the acquittal of George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who killed a 17-year-old. Trayvon Martin In Florida. But that was 2014 Death of Michael Brown in police hands fergusonMissouri, which has made the slogan “Black Lives Matter” a rallying cry for progressives and a favorite target of ridicule for conservatives.
Associated Press October report The Justice Department is investigating whether leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement defrauded donors who gave tens of millions of dollars during racial justice protests in 2020. There was no immediate indication that Dixon’s prosecution was related to that investigation.