Tashella Dickerson faces 25 federal prices for allegedly embezzling $3.15 million from Black Lives Matter OKC bail funds.
Tashella Dickerson has been charged with embezzling $3.15 million from Black Lives Matter OKC donations meant for bail funds and utilizing the cash for luxurious holidays and actual property purchases.
The 52-year-old government director faces 25 federal prices after a grand jury indictment was unsealed on December 11.
Dickerson spent the stolen funds on journeys to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. She additionally purchased six properties in Oklahoma Metropolis, a private automobile and dropped $50,000 on meals deliveries for herself and her kids.
The scheme focused funds raised after George Floyd was murdered by Derek Chauvin in 2020.
BLM OKC collected over $5.6 million from on-line donors and nationwide bail funds, together with the Neighborhood Justice Alternate, Massachusetts Bail Fund and Minnesota Freedom Fund.
These organizations despatched grants particularly to assist submit bail for protesters arrested throughout racial justice demonstrations. When bail cash was returned to BLM OKC, the nationwide teams generally allowed the native chapter to maintain parts to construct a revolving bail fund.
However Dickerson allegedly had different plans. She’s accused of funneling at the least $3.15 million into her private accounts and happening procuring sprees that price tens of 1000’s of {dollars}.
The FBI and IRS investigated the case after discovering Dickerson submitted false annual stories to the Alliance for World Justice. AFGJ served as BLM OKC’s fiscal sponsor because the native chapter wasn’t a registered tax-exempt group.
Dickerson instructed AFGJ that she used solely funds for tax-exempt functions. She didn’t point out the luxurious journeys, property purchases or private bills.
This case provides to the rising scrutiny of Black Lives Matter’s monetary practices nationwide. Different BLM leaders have confronted related fraud prices lately for misusing donations meant for social justice work.
Dickerson faces as much as 20 years in federal jail for every wire fraud depend and 10 years for every cash laundering cost. The utmost fines attain $250,000 per depend.