A Boston activist named Monica Cannon Grant and her husband Clark Grant has just been charged with fraud for allegedly using funds intended for their nonprofit organization, Violence in Boston, for personal expenses.
The pair was also accused by the prosecution of defrauding unemployment insurance recipients, misrepresenting to a mortgage lender, and defrauding charitable donors.
According to the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins’ office, the two have been charged with “13 counts of wire fraud, two charges of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of conspiracy, and one count of making false representations to a mortgage lending institution.”
One count of mail fraud has been brought against Monica Cannon Grant, who was arrested on March 15th. In the end, she was released on her recognizance. Her husband has already been charged by a federal grand jury for allegedly participating in pandemic aid fraud.
A well-known community organizer and social activist in Boston is Monica Cannon Grant. She is best known for founding the nonprofit organization Violence in Boston. According to her official website, Cannon Grant has lived in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood for 17 years.
In 2016, she ran for office as a state representative for the 7th Suffolk District, however, she lost by 90 votes. The 41-year-old was also a member of the Community Call advisory board and the executive director of the Tito Jackson Community Fund. Additionally, she was a former chairperson of the NAACP’s Young Adult Committee.
To improve the “quality of life & life outcomes of folks from poor neighborhoods,” Monica Cannon Grant formed the Violence In Boston Inc. organization. She lives by the motto “Our Community, Our Responsibility.” He organized the “Hands Off Our Pride” counter-protest to the divisive “Straight Pride Parade” in 2017 and led the “Fight Supremacy” march to protest the “Boston Free Speech Rally” that year.
In the past, Cannon Grant, a former Black Lives Matter leader, organized about 55,000 people to protest the death of George Floyd and other police-involved killings across the country. Before starting her activist journey, Monica Cannon Grant, according to The Boston Scope, attended college for three years to become a nurse.
She attracted significant media notice for her role in the nation’s racial justice movement when George Floyd was killed. In 2020, The Boston Globe Magazine named Cannon Grant Bostonian of the Year and Boston Magazine’s Best Social Justice Advocate. She was one of the top 100 Bostonians in terms of influence the year after, according to Boston Magazine.
Do you know what Monica Cannon Grant did?
After George Floyd was killed in 2020, Monica Cannon Grant rose to prominence as one of Boston’s most prominent social activists due to her involvement in the American racial justice movement.
She also won praise for founding the nonprofit organization Violence in Boston, which aims to lessen violence and the pain it causes. Contrarily, Cannon Grant and her husband were charged with fraud earlier this week for allegedly exploiting the resources of their charity for private gain.
Monica Cannon Grant and Clark Grant were charged with using their nonprofit organization “as a vehicle to financially benefit themselves and their designees,” according to a 38-page indictment written by Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins.
The current accusation, according to The Boston Herald, alleges that Cannon Grant and her husband engaged in years-long scams and stole “a considerable quantity” of money from anti-violence and pro-services programs for their private uses.
The indictment claims that between 2017 and 2021, Cannon Grant and Clark Grant solicited and obtained more than $1 million in donations and grants through fundraisers from nonprofit organizations, people, and other entities. The pair used the charity money on personal expenses instead, including home loans, car rentals, personal trips, salon services, and other items. As stated in the indictment:
“Cannon-Grant and Clark Grant, among other methods, diverted VIB payments to themselves by cashing checks, cashing withdrawals, wire transfers to their bank accounts, and debit transactions.”
The indictment used the 2019 Suffolk District Attorney’s Office gift of $10,000 to Violence in Boston for anti-violence initiatives as an illustration of suspected financial misappropriation.
On the other side, Cannon Grant and her husband are charged with spending “$145 at a Boston nail salon, over $400 at Walmart and grocery stores in Columbia, Maryland, and hundreds of dollars on meals in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Maryland, including at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and other restaurants.”
Charges against Monica Cannon Grant
According to the indictment, the activist was also charged with spending $1,211 at the Sonesta Suites hotel in Columbia, Maryland, along with hundreds of dollars on petrol, parking, vehicle rental fees, and ATM withdrawals, among other expenses.
Additionally, according to the authorities, Monica Cannon Grant and her husband started alleging that they were not paid for their work at the nonprofit organization to qualify for pandemic-related unemployment benefits.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office investigation that resulted in the arrest of Cannon-husband, Grant’s Clark Grant, last October is the subject of the most recent probe into her. pic.twitter.com/N0fILBy1y6
On the other hand, Violence in Boston reportedly paid Cannon Grant $2,788 per week and he made more than $25,000 in 2020 and more than $170,000 in 2021. The activist and her husband allegedly received over $100,000 in unemployment benefits due to an epidemic, despite the activist’s spouse earning tens of thousands of dollars as a diversity consultant.
To receive benefits from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, authorities charged Monica Cannon Grant with making false unemployment claims during the pandemic:
In addition to other home and personal expenses, “Cannon-Grant and Clark Grant used their illegally obtained PUA subsidies to pay for airline flights, new furnishings, Amazon purchases, and to help subsidize the cost of Clark Grant’s motorcycle.”
Cannon-Grant allegedly collected $3,000 from the Cambridge Black Lives Matter group “to feed disadvantaged children,” but delivered the money to a relative, according to the federal jury.
The indictment, according to Monica Cannon’s attorney, Grant’s Rob Goldstein, was hastened, and the activist and her group were dissatisfied with the result:
“We are disappointed in the administration’s decision-making process here,” VIB and Monica have been working closely together, and they are still making records.
The lawyer added that inferring conclusions from documents with allegedly insufficient data does not give a person a fair chance:
Drawing judgments from a lack of factual evidence does not reflect the fair and thorough process that a citizen, especially someone like Monica who has steadfastly fought for her community, deserves from their government, according to the statement.
Following the indictment, Monica Cannon Grant was placed in a short-term jail cell until Judge Judith Dein released her on personal recognizance with several limitations affecting her professional life. The activist is currently prohibited from requesting any loans, grants, or employment perks. She is also prohibited from working as a volunteer or an employee in any position that would allow her access to an organization’s funds.
Also Read: Eniko Hart And Her Parents, Especially Her Mother, Are Very Close
