A once-celebrated Boston social activist has pleaded guilty to defrauding donors — including Black Lives Matter — out of thousands of dollars that she used as a personal piggy bank.
Monica Cannon-Grant, 44, pleaded guilty Monday to 18 counts of fraud-related crimes that she committed with her late husband while operating their Violence in Boston (VIB) activists group, according to the US Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts.
The activist scammed money — including $3,000 from a BLM group — while claiming it was to help feed children and run protests like one in 2020 over the murder of George Floyd and police violence.
Cannon-Grant also conned her way into getting $100,000 in federal pandemic-related unemployment benefits — which she used to pay off her personal auto loan and car insurance policy.
But she has now confessed to transferring funds to personal bank accounts to pay for rent, shopping sprees, delivery meals, visits to a nail salon — and even a summer vacation to Maryland.
She “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,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley.
“Instead, Cannon-Grant used donations to satisfy her own greed, while falsely portraying herself as a legitimate nonprofit organizer. She betrayed the trust of everyone who donated and the public who supported her fraudulent charity,” she added.
The charges involve a maximum sentence of decades behind bars — but prosecutors are seeking a far more lenient punishment, with a max of two years in prison, according to the Boston Herald.
Cannon-Grant’s public activism earned her numerous local accolades, including the Boston Globe Magazine’s Bostonian of the Year award and a Boston Celtics Heroes Among Us award, both in 2020.
The activist and her husband were arrested in March 2022. VIB shut down in July 2024, according to a pinned statement on the group’s Facebook page.
Cannon-Grant’s husband, Clark Grant, who was also federally charged in the case, was killed in a motorcycle crash in Easton, Massachusetts, in March 2023 and the charges against him were dropped.