A Black Lives Matter activist once honored as “Bostonian of the Year” has been ordered to repay more than $200,000 after admitting to multiple fraud-related offenses.
Monica Cannon-Grant, who received the recognition from the Boston Globe, must return nearly $225,000 tied to misuse of nonprofit donations, unemployment benefits, and other funds obtained through fraudulent means.
U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley sentenced Cannon-Grant to four years of probation, along with six months of home confinement and 100 hours of community service. Federal prosecutors had sought a prison term of 18 months. Although she avoided incarceration, the court required her to repay the full amount taken from her nonprofit organization and other sources, reports National Review.
In September, Cannon-Grant pleaded guilty to 18 charges, including three counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, ten counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, two counts of filing false tax returns, and two counts of failing to file tax returns.
She established Violence in Boston Inc. in 2017 and became a prominent figure in organizing protests and marches following the death of George Floyd, as well as participating in other progressive activism efforts.
According to court documents, the funds involved included approximately $181,000 in donations from Violence in Boston Inc., $33,000 in improperly obtained unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic, and about $12,600 in rental assistance funds.
Cannon-Grant and her late husband, Clark Grant, had initially faced a 27-count superseding indictment. Charges against Clark Grant were later dismissed following his death.
“Cannon-Grant not only stole from her own non-profit organization but did so at the expense of multiple public financial programs designed to help those truly in need,” Thomas Demeo, special agent in charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation at the Boston Field Office, said in a press release in January. “While Cannon-Grant personally profited from her own scheme, those in the communities seeking a lifeline from her organization had to go without.”
Prosecutors said the money was spent on personal expenses, including rent, shopping, hotel stays, car rentals, vehicle repairs, meal delivery services, and a summer trip to Maryland. During the same period, Cannon-Grant continued to receive public recognition for her activism, including being named “Bostonian of the Year” by Boston Globe Magazine in 2020.
“Revolution, no matter what anyone thinks, is not led by a person. Revolution is only as real and strong as the people. And there is no one path to liberation. From policy makers to powerful creatives to people in the streets with their fists in the air, we need all kinds,” reads the introduction to the social-justice advocate category of the magazine’s “Bostonian of the Year” entry.
“Monica Cannon-Grant knows both what it is to be erased in conversations and community work, and to be deemed the voice of a community. ‘It’s easy to make one person the revolution, so that no one else has to do the work,’ says Cannon-Grant, 39, a Roxbury activist and founder of the nonprofit group Violence in Boston,” the entry continues.
At her sentencing in January, Cannon-Grant told the court she accepts “full responsibility” for her conduct.
She is among several high-profile activists associated with Black Lives Matter organizations who have faced allegations of financial misconduct, which has led the Department of Justice to examine potential donor fraud and broader concerns about how some groups have managed funds.