(Headline USA) A prominent Black Lives Matter activist is under federal investigation for allegedly stealing funds from her multi-million dollar charity.
Monica Cannon-Grant, the founder and CEO of Violence in Boston, became an influential figure in the Black Lives Matter organization during the summer of 2020. She has worked closely with the likes of “Squad” member Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, the Boston Globe reported.
But she is now facing a grand jury that has been looking into her finances since October, she admitted this week. The investigation began after federal authorities arrested her husband and raided her home after he was charged with committing COVID-19 unemployment and mortgage fraud.
Cannon-Grant’s husband, Clark Grant, is accused of fraudulently claiming Violence in Boston’s bank account as his own personal property when he applied for a $402,573 mortgage in May 2021.
“They ultimately used him in order to investigate me,” Cannon-Grant said.
Federal prosecutors are investigating whether any of the donations provided to Cannon-Grant’s charity were used to pay for her personal expenses, according to the Boston Globe. At least one prominent donor to the charity, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, was subpoenaed by a federal grand jury for records related to a $6,000 grant it provided to her group in 2019.
She went on to accuse other members of the black community of encouraging an investigation into her finances because they were “jealous” of her.
“In 2020, we went from a $40,000, $50,000 a year organization to a [multimillion-dollar] organization — more money, more problems,” Cannon-Grant said. “The moment funding started coming in and the world started seeing us doing the work, which prompted awards and accolades, it was, ‘I want what she got. She don’t deserve it.’
“This is what happens when you’re successful,” she continued. “This is what happens when you don’t accept mediocrity. This is what happens when you’re successful and nobody can explain your success because it’s not theirs to explain.”
