A federal grand jury has indicted The Rev. T. Sheri Dickerson, co-founder of Black Lives Matter OKC, for allegedly diverting $3.15 million from the organization toward her own personal use.
After the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota in 2020, BLMOKC received grants from national organizations to post more than $4 million in bail for individuals arrested while protesting police brutality and racism. When county court clerks returned bail after individuals showed up for their court dates, Dickerson, 52, allegedly diverted millions to her own bank accounts and spent it on herself and her associates instead of returning the funds to the organization she co-founded and directed.
The Dec. 3 indictment (embedded below) was announced Thursday by the office of Robert Troester, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma. It accuses Dickerson of spending returned bail funds on a new car, six real estate properties, shopping sprees and trips to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. In all, Dickerson faces 20 charges of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering.
“Beginning no later than June 2020, and continuing through at least October 2025, in the Western District of Oklahoma and elsewhere, Dickerson knowingly devised, intended to devise, and executed a scheme and artifice to defraud BLMOKC and its donors in a material manner and to obtain money from BLMOKC and its donors by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises,” the indictment said. “In particular, Dickerson diverted funds donated for the benefit of BLMOKC and its social justice causes to her personal benefit and then falsely stated in reports to [the Alliance for Global Justice] that all funds received by BLMOKC were used for tax-exempt purposes.”
The Alliance for Global Justice is an Arizona-based nonprofit with tax exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. According to the indictment, AFGJ offered fiscal sponsorship to other nonprofits, and in June 2020, AFGJ officially became a sponsor of BLMOKC.
“The primary purpose of the agreement was to allow BLMOKC donors to receive legal tax deductions through AFGJ’s status as a public charity under the Internal Revenue Code,” the indictment said. “AFGJ agreed to accept grants, contributions, and gifts on behalf of BLMOKC and, after deducting an administrative fee, made those funds available to BLMOKC in a segregated account known as the ‘Project Fund.'”
In return, BLMOKC agreed to use funding “solely for legitimate expenses,” along with providing AFGJ with a full account of how the funding was disbursed. BLMOKC also agreed not to purchase any property without AFGJ’s consent, and “all grants, charitable contributions, and gifts received on behalf of BLMOKC would be reported as contributions to AFGJ as required by law.”
Along with accusations of wire fraud for depositing returned bail into her own bank accounts, two of Dickerson’s wire fraud counts allege that she sent misleading annual reports to AFGJ regarding the use of funds.
Dickerson has served as the executive director and registered agent of BLMOKC since 2016. According to the indictment, Dickerson represented herself to be an unpaid volunteer for BLMOKC.
Shortly after the indictment was released Thursday afternoon, Dickerson posted a video to Facebook titled, “I’m advised by my legal counsel to not comment about the charges. But y’all know I got something to say.”
During the wide-ranging, nearly 13-minute video — in which she discussed Palestine, Venezuela and other foreign affairs — Dickerson acknowledged she was “probably causing some of my legal team to have an actual conniption,” but insisted the video was not “a formal comment” and was instead intended to let her loved ones know she is “alright.”
She said she knew charges were coming.
“This is quite common as far as when people who do work like we do, these are the same charges they come at you with,” Dickerson said. “I want to thank one of my sisters and mentors who said, ‘When they come against you, like they have come against so many, that is their acknowledgement — whether they want it to be or not — that you are doing good work.'”
Dickerson emphasized the accusations of malfeasance are not against BLMOKC as an organization itself, and she said she stands by the same positions she has always had.
“Certain things I’m not going to spend time on trying to defend myself,” Dickerson said. “The haters, they are doing their jobs, and they will continue to.”
Indictment: ‘Dickerson deposited returned bail checks into her personal bank accounts’
When individuals in Oklahoma were arrested while protesting police brutality and the murder of George Floyd, BLMOKC began raising funds to post bail.
“Donations made to BLMOKC through its website were directed to AFGJ as BLMOKC’s fiscal sponsor. Donations made to BLMOKC through its social media accounts were directed to BLMOKC’s PayPal and Cash App accounts, but also occasionally to Dickerson’s personal PayPal account,” the indictment said. “In total, BLMOKC raised more than $250,000 through online donations and social media accounts.”
BLMOKC also began soliciting grant funding from other social justice groups across the country, including the San Francisco-based Community Justice Exchange, the Massachusetts Bail Fund and the Minnesota Freedom Fund. BLMOKC continued to receive grant funding from other social justice organizations through at least May 2024, according to the indictment.
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In 2020, Community Justice Exchange granted a total of $4.7 million to AFGJ for the benefit of BLMOKC, the Massachusetts Bail Fund granted $300,000 and the Minnesota Freedom Fund granted $350,000. Each of the organizations gave instructions for what should be done with bail funding released from court clerks back to those who had posted it as individuals appeared in court.
The Community Justice Exchange instructed the funding “must be used to support charitable or educational work, within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, furthering racial justice and/or ending mass incarceration,” while the Massachusetts Bail Fund instructed returned bail funds would “be a donation to [BLMOKC] to further their work.”
The Minnesota Freedom Fund initially instructed returned bail funds should be remitted back to the MFF, but in 2022, the MFF amended the terms to say “all remaining funds held by AFGJ on behalf of [BLMOKC] are to be used by [BLMOKC] in their efforts to pay bail for individuals in Oklahoma City that may not be able to pay for themselves.”
The indictment alleges, however, that Dickerson did not use the released bail funding to further BLMOKC’s mission. Instead, she is accused of transferring funds to her personal accounts.
“Dickerson thereafter used those funds for the benefit of herself, her children and her associates, including by purchasing real estate and a personal vehicle and by paying for recreational travel, retail shopping, and food delivery services,” the indictment alleges.
Under Dickerson’s counts of wire fraud, the indictment details the following transactions:
- Between June 14 and July 3, 2020, Dickerson transferred approximately $79,011.92 and $32,277.70 from BLMOKC’s PayPal account to two of her own PayPal accounts, respectively, which she used “on personal expenses, including retail purchases, travel, food and furniture”;
- Between June 23 and July 26, 2020, Dickerson transferred approximately $39,000 from BLMOKC’s PayPal account to her personal checking account, which previously held a balance of $545.48; and
- Between June 25 and Sept. 10, 2020, Dickerson transferred more than $120,000 in funds “derived from donations made for the benefit of BLMOKC and returned bail funds” from her personal bank accounts to both her own Cash App account and Cash App accounts belonging to associates.
According to the indictment, BLMOKC did not have its own bank account prior to July 6, 2020, and grant funds were deposited directly to Dickerson’s checking account. Between July 1 and July 10, 2020, AFGJ deposited $3.52 million to Dickerson’s account, $2,901,000 of which she then transferred to a new account for BLMOKC. In total, Dickerson’s account and the BLMOKC account received a combined $4.82 million, of which she posted approximately $4.5 million in bail for Oklahoma County defendants. Of the posted bail, $1 million was forfeited owing to a defendant’s failure to appear in two criminal cases, but the remaining $3.5 million was returned via check, the indictment said.
“In some instances, Dickerson deposited returned bail checks into BLMOKC’s bank accounts,” the indictment said. “In many instances, however, Dickerson deposited returned bail checks into her personal bank accounts.”
Dickerson accused of spending on DoorDash, Jamaica trips, real estate
In total, Dickerson is accused of depositing returned bail checks worth at least $3.15 million into her own personal checking and savings accounts.
In August 2020, Dickerson used the account that previously contained $545.48 — before she received bail funds — to purchase a 2021 Hyundai Palisade. The indictment alleges she further used proceeds to fund trips “for herself and her associates” to the Dominican Republic in July 2021 and Jamaica in December 2021 and January 2022. She is also accused of spending “tens of thousands of dollars” at Nordstrom, Macy’s, Amazon, Best Buy, Bob Mills Furniture and others. She also spent “at least $50,000” on food and grocery deliveries from services like DoorDash.
Dickerson also purchased seven real estate properties in her own name, worth a total of $538,000, and three under the name of Equity International, worth a total of $437,000. Dickerson formed the limited liability company in September 2022, although the Oklahoma Secretary of State’s website lists it as inactive for being delinquent on its annual reports.
On May 14, 2021, and again on June 30, 2022, the indictment alleged Dickerson submitted BLMOKC’s annual financial reports to AFGJ. In them, Dickerson certified that all money received from AFGJ was expended for tax-exempt purposes in accordance with the 501(c)(3) federal tax code. She did not disclose putting bail funds into her personal accounts and making personal purchases with them, nor did she disclose the purchase of “the Church Property,” which was originally intended to be used as a community center.
Dickerson was charged with a total of 20 counts of wire fraud: 18 counts for depositing checks from court clerk’s offices in Cleveland and Oklahoma counties to her own accounts, and two for submitting fraudulent annual financial reports to AFGJ.
Dickerson’s five charges of money laundering are related to property she bought in northeast Oklahoma City with the allegedly defrauded funding. A “church property” on Northeast 22nd Street, originally intended to be a community center and actually consisting of five unique parcels of land, was not included in the money laundering charges, although it is subject to forfeiture. However, five other properties — two listed under her name, three listed under the name of Equity International — are respectively associated with each count of money laundering. Each of those five properties appears to be residential.
Each count of wire fraud could carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. For each count of money laundering, Dickerson faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the amount of the criminally derived property involved in the transaction. The indictment also notes any purchase Dickerson made with defrauded funding would be subject to forfeiture.
According to a press release accompanying the indictment, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matt Dillon and Jessica L. Perry for the Western District of Oklahoma will prosecute the case. The case was investigated by the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office and IRS-Criminal Investigation.
In October, the Associated Press reported that the U.S. Department of Justice was examining whether leaders of the national Black Lives Matter organization and its affiliates had engaged in fraud. Prior to Dickerson’s indictment, Sir Maejor Page, the former head of Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta was sentenced to 42 months of jail time in October 2024, on one count of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering. Page used money from the organization to fund vacations and a home in Ohio, alongside other personal expenses.
Read the indictment of T. Sheri Dickerson
