livingston
20×102mm Vulcan
Boston BLM Activist to Plead Guilty to Federal Fraud
Boston Black Lives Matter activist Monica Cannon-Grant is expected to plead guilty to federal fraud charges stemming from allegations that she and her late husband defrauded donors out of more than $1 million in grants and donations to fund their lavish lifestyle, according to multiple reports.Her trial was scheduled to begin in U.S. District Court in Boston on Oct. 14.
The Boston Herald reported Thursday that Cannon-Grant, who was honored as ''Bostonian of the Year" in 2020, is set to plead guilty to all 18 charges, including mail and wire fraud. She filed a motion for a change-of-plea hearing last week.
Cannon-Grant and her husband, Clark, were first charged in 2022 with using their nonprofit, Violence in Boston (VIB), as a vehicle to enrich themselves, federal prosecutors said. From the time they founded VIB in 2017, the duo diverted $1 million in donations to personal expenses — hotel reservations, travel, restaurants, nail salon visits, groceries, auto payments, insurance and similar expenditures, federal prosecutors said.
Additional charges were brought in 2023 for lying to obtain rent relief funds. Cannon-Grant faces a 27-count superseding indictment that includes conspiracy, wire and mail fraud, false statements on a mortgage application, and tax violations.
