A federal indictment alleges that a prominent Boston Black Lives Matter leader and her husband have committed fraud after using a $6,000 grant to take at-risk youth to a Philadelphia retreat on themselves. The couple allegedly used the money for a getaway to Maryland, restaurants, and shopping sprees, among other things.
In an 18-count federal indictment, including charges for wire fraud and making false statements to a mortgage lending business, Monica Cannon-Grant, 41, founder of the nonprofit Violence in Boston, and her husband Clark Grant, 38, were charged Tuesday.
The Boston Globe reported the activist was given a check, in June of 2019, for $6,000 for a trip to Philly “to give these young men exposure to communities outside of the violence-riddled neighborhoods that they navigate daily.”
The feds allege the couple used the money to take a vacation to Maryland, eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Shake Shack, and other eateries, pay for car rentals, Walmart purchases, and visits to a nail salon.
According to the indictment, the couple is charged with three separate schemes, defrauding donors, lying on a mortgage application, and illegally collecting about $100,000 in pandemic unemployment benefits, stated the Globe.
After a raid at the couple’s Taunton home last year, the news outlet reported that the feds charged Clark Grant for allegedly engaging in pandemic-assistance fraud.
The Globe said Cannon-Grant was arrested, on Tuesday, at her home on charges that the couple raised over $1 million in grants and donations for people in need, but took a large amount of it for themselves.
Officials said the couple allegedly used some money to make rent payments on their Boston apartment and purchase a car for a relative.
Her attorney, Robert Goldstein, said in a statement that “we are extremely disappointed the government ru
Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s spokesman Jim Borghesani told the Globe that “this is a disturbing violation of the public trust and should not reflect on the organizations that used asset forfeiture funds for their intended purpose.”
