When Dorian Wilkerson reconnected with Shareza Jackson 20 years after their first meeting, she thought she had finally found her prince charming – until the turbulent romance turned into a real nightmare.
Jackson, 44, first knew Wilkerson in high school and decades later remembered him as a handsome and great athlete who played football and ran track.
In 2014, his clear image and her fond memories came back when he contacted her on Facebook. She was at a high point in her life – and quickly began to believe that Wilkerson was the only missing piece of the puzzle.
She told how excited she was when he told her about his work as a doctor at Emory Hospital and overjoyed to have found someone who she believed shared her work ethic.
But their love turned bitter when Jackson uncovered a host of dirty secrets that left her husband of six years devastated – and, by her own estimate, at least $1.4 million poorer.
Wilkerson was not, in fact, a doctor.
She says her supposed knight in shining armor was nothing more than a serial fraudster accused of assault, family violence, stalking, theft and extortion.
And she discovered that she was far from the first victim of his deception: Other women came out and said he had cheated on them too.
A dream gone wrong: The couple had been married for six years when Shareza Jackson began to suspect that her husband Dorian Wilkerson was a cheater. She estimates that by that point she had already donated hundreds of thousands of dollars from her savings and 401(k) to help him fund a cosmetic surgery center. She filed for divorce in March 2023 (pictured above on her wedding day in 2016)
Prince Charming? Shareza Jackson and Dorian Wilkerson, pictured on their wedding day, November 27, 2016. The couple knew each other in high school and reconnected when he contacted her on Facebook. He told her that he was a doctor and an epidemiologist at the CDC
She filed for divorce in March of this year and filed a civil lawsuit in October alleging he defrauded her of at least $1 million – in addition to a $400,000 business investment.
She says he opened a cosmetic clinic with her money to cash in on the profits, but also says he forged her name on documents to secure loans in her name – and in a final blow, she claims she discovered that he was not faithful.
Leading up to the couple’s reunion, the single mother was raising two teenage daughters on her own while working as a regional manager at a Fortune 500 healthcare company. She owned her own home, two luxury cars and was also a published author.
Jackson says when they first spoke, he told her he was a doctor at Emory Hospital in Atlanta and an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control. She liked that he was successful, hard-working and, like her, passionate about philanthropy.
At the time, he was living in Atlanta and she was living in Florida. But the two finally met during a business trip she had to take across the state. She says he picked her up at her hotel in a Bentley and was wearing a medical gown.
Before their dinner, he took her to his apartment – a “beautiful loft with a breathtaking view of the park” – so he could change.
It didn’t take long for Jackson to be hooked. She says he was “fascinated” by her and that they seemed to share many of the same values. Wilkerson reminded her of her military father, with whom she has a close relationship.
“He was tall, dark-skinned and handsome, and he was very successful,” she says. “Not only was he a doctor, he was also a doctor. and attended these prestigious universities and lectured around the country on vaccines and infectious diseases.”
After kissing many toads, she thought she had found her prince charming.
She says he was loving and thoughtful and claims he put her on a pedestal and showered her with gifts and lavish trips.
On November 27, 2016, the couple married at an exclusive venue in Fort Lauderdale in front of 200 friends and family members.
Her two adult daughters were so taken with the man their mother loved that they legally changed their last name to match that of their new stepfather.
The former power couple is pictured together at their cosmetic medical center, Best U Now, in 2019. The center, which closed in December 2022, offered procedures such as tummy tucks, breast augmentations and Brazilian butt lifts. A year into their marital bliss, she helped him open the center, but became concerned when it repeatedly failed to make a profit
Happier times: The couple pictured in the pool at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, during a stay in 2021, before Jackson discovered Wilkerson’s trail of deception
A year after their wedding bliss, she helped him open a cosmetic center that offered breast augmentation, tummy tucks and Brazilian butt lifts.
She says his job at the center would be to bring in the doctors to perform the procedures and manage the day-to-day operations.
Jackson, busy with her job, invested financially in Best U Now, which would be based in Broward County, Florida.
At his urging, she gave him the money he needed to get started – by closing out her savings account and 401k.
She estimates that total has risen to as much as $400,000.
She says that initially she was not actively involved in her business, but eventually she noticed that the center was losing money even though the list of customer bookings was full.
To support her investment and keep her business afloat, she quit her job at the company to devote herself full-time to the beauty center.
When she began questioning Wilkerson about the missing money, she claimed he had answers for everything. She began to believe he was a “master manipulator.”
As their romance began to unravel, she heard stories about Wilkerson stealing money from other people.
Several women who were allegedly deceived by Wilkerson contacted her and told her that “he is a dangerous person and is not who he says he is.” They warned her to be careful.
A woman who told Jackson she was friends with Wilkerson’s first ex-wife sent her a text message, which Jackson shared with .
She described Wilkerson as a master “con artist.”
“I have known him for 16 years and he has always been a liar and a cheat,” she wrote.
She became increasingly worried when she realized that the man she was falling in love with seemed to be a cheater. Jackson’s worst fears came true, she said, when she saw a text message he had sent to a male friend in which he said he no longer needed her because “She’s broke.”
Dorian Wilkerson is pictured in a LinkedIn profile wearing a medical gown with a stethoscope and claims he was educated at Emory University/Clark Atlanta University
Assault: Dorian Wilkerson was shot while being arrested by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office on February 13, 2007 and charged with assault and battery. He was released the following day after posting $5,000 bail
Assault: Mugshot of Dorian Wilkerson when he was arrested by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office on February 9, 2009. He was charged with assault, battery and family violence and released the following day after posting $10,000 bail
Jackson began to argue with her husband. She was horrified to discover he was a convicted felon who had been arrested for fraud in 2002, assault and battery in 2007 and assault, battery and family violence in 2009 – and was still on probation located.
She obtained a criminal history report from 2001, provided to , obtained through the clerk of court in Atlantic City Probation (NJ) and the clerk of court in Georgia, where he was charged with domestic assault.
In August 2001, he was charged in Atlantic, New Jersey with theft and extortion of more than $75,000. He pleaded guilty and was convicted and placed on probation on Sept. 6, 2002, documents show.
In February 2007, he was charged with simple assault and released from jail on $5,000 bail, according to documents from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department in Georgia.
In February 2009, he was arrested on simple family violence charges and released from jail on $10,000 bail, according to records from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department in Georgia.
He was also charged with speeding in Broward County, Florida in August 2017 and careless driving in Pembroke Pines, Florida in January 2020, records show.
According to court documents from the Broward County Clerk of Courts obtained by , Wilkerson has not been employed since December 2022.
She discovered other disturbing evidence, including a fine against Wilkerson for being a fake doctor.
Jackson believes he turned tens of thousands away from her business to fund his lifestyle, which she said included partying, drinking and frequent visits to strip clubs.
According to Jackson, when she confronted him, Jackson filed a “false” police report against her regarding their shared finances and tried to have her arrested.
“He always played the victim a lot and blamed others,” Jackson shared.
Jackson was at a high point in her life – and quickly began to believe that Wilkerson was the only missing piece of the puzzle. A year after her marriage, she invested in his cosmetic surgery business, but when it didn’t make a profit, she became suspicious
She shared an audio recording of her conversation with a former employee in which she was informed that Wilkerson would be putting her name and those of two other doctors at her cosmetic center on the documents.
When she found out, she also found out that he was using her credit. She claims he accessed hundreds of thousands of dollars on her behalf.
She tried to get a restraining order against him – out of concern for her safety and that of her two daughters – but was told the case was a civil matter that would have to be dealt with as part of the divorce process.
His claim to be a doctor is also part of the network of deception.
On the cosmetic center’s BestUNow website, Wilkerson was described as a “Doctor Body” and a “Rejuvenation Specialist and Cosmetic Analyst.” However, online data does not indicate that he has a medical license in the state of Florida or Georgia, contrary to what his LinkedIn profiles show.
The Florida Department of Health was so upset that they issued him a cease and desist letter telling him to stop pretending.
In October 2017, the Florida Department of Health issued a cease and desist order against Wilkerson, quoted by .
It said: “The Department has probable cause to believe that Wilkerson is not licensed by the Department or the Board of Medicine and is practicing medicine and is leading the public to believe that he is a doctor.”
The document was signed by Florida Department of Health State Surgeon General Edwin Bruno.
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official told that there is “no record of Dorian Wilkerson in any of their current CDC employee directories.”
In October she published the book “Successful Women Get Played Too.” Her message to other women is: “Always go with your gut and your intuition.” Despite all her suffering and torment, she told that she hopes to find love again
They closed the business in December 2022.
“When people start to find out about him, he tries to silence them and seeks their livelihood and their freedom,” she said.
She added: “Nothing ever happens to him and he continues to scam women and business owners and scare them into not coming for him.”
According to Jackson, he is currently living with another woman.
She produced a letter his probation officer sent to Wilkerson on Jan. 22, 2023, about money he owned. On Thursday, contacted the investigator, who said he was unable to discuss the case and referred us to his legal team. There was no further answer.
Jackson filed for divorce in March and filed a civil lawsuit against her ex in October.
Florida divorce attorney Nydia Streets is handling the case. In the divorce filing, obtained by , Jackson made several allegations, including that her “husband forged his wife’s name on documents to obtain loans and for his personal benefit.”
Jackson filed for divorce earlier this year. She filed a civil lawsuit in October. She told that she wants to get over it and is relying on faith and her family to rebuild her life
She alleged in the court documents that Wilkerson “had a habit of cheating on women and leaving them heavily in debt once he felt he could no longer benefit from them,” the court documents said.
She claimed that “the wife had learned that her husband had previously been convicted of fraud, a conviction which the husband downplayed and about which he misled his wife.”
According to the filing, she claimed that “the husband incident went to the extent of fabricating parts of his past to his wife.” For example, the husband falsely stated that he was formerly an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
She also claimed that she committed adultery throughout her marriage. “To the best of our knowledge and belief, several allegations of sexual harassment have been made against the husband by third parties.”
Jackson said she is trying to rebuild her life, relying on her faith and the strength of her family. In October, she released a book called “Successful Women Get Played Too.”
When asked if Jackson felt Wilkerson ever loved her, she told : “I don’t think a narcissist has the ability to love. “They are self-centered and only think about themselves.”
made numerous attempts to reach Wilkerson for comment. He declined to make a statement on the record.