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In federal court Monday, Cannon-Grant pleaded guilty to 18 fraud-related charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Monica Cannon-Grant, a once-celebrated local activist, pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to defrauding donors to her nonprofit, which received significant attention in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and other instances of police violence.
Cannon-Grant, 44, and her late husband, Clark Grant, were accused of spending the donated funds on personal expenditures including hotels, gas, restaurants, food deliveries, nail salons, and travel. The accusations also included fraudulently collecting unemployment benefits and pandemic relief funds.
Both were indicted on federal fraud charges in 2022. Grant was killed in a motorcycle crash a year later.
In federal court Monday, Cannon-Grant pleaded guilty to 18 fraud-related charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and failure to file tax returns and filing a false tax return.
“Monica Cannon-Grant repeatedly scammed multiple public financial programs and stole money donated by members of the public who believed their donations would aid in reducing violence and promote social awareness,” U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement. “Instead, Cannon-Grant used donations to satisfy her own greed, while falsely portraying herself as a legitimate nonprofit organizer.”
Cannon-Grant’s trial, initially set to begin next month, will be canceled. Her sentencing date is set for Jan. 29.
Her lawyer did not return a request for comment Monday evening.
Cannon-Grant managed nonprofit Violence In Boston
Cannon-Grant was described in The Boston Globe in 2020 as “a firecracker and a mother bear” amid organizing in the era of Black Lives Matter. The couple managed the immediately-defunct Violence In Boston, formally established in 2017 with a mission of reducing violence, raising social awareness, and aiding community causes.
Through VIB fundraising, the couple raised more than $1 million, according to the initial federal indictment. Cannon-Grant and Grant defrauded donors by using the funds to “personally enrich” themselves, defrauded the state by accepting unemployment assistance, and made false statements to their mortgage lender, prosecutors said.
“Unemployment caught my ass!” Cannon-Grant allegedly texted her husband in March 2021. “Asked me to provide documents by June unless I’ll have to pay it all back.”
Additional charges were brought against the couple in 2023, including allegations of leveraging their nonprofit for pandemic assistance and lying to obtain rent relief funds intended for Boston residents facing housing insecurity.
After the couple received $53,977 in pandemic relief funds, Cannon-Grant withdrew $30,000 in cash from the VIB bank account, deposited thousands into her personal checking account, and made payments to her car insurance and auto loan. She also lied about her income to receive $12,600 in rental assistance from the City of Boston, prosecutors said.
Three of the charges Cannon-Grant pleaded guilty to each carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. The charge of filing a false tax return carries a three year sentence and a $100,000 fine, and failing to file a tax return carries a sentence of up to one year in prison and a $25,000 fine.
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