{"id":1377843,"date":"2022-03-15T07:05:26","date_gmt":"2022-03-15T11:05:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1377843"},"modified":"2022-03-15T11:06:03","modified_gmt":"2022-03-15T15:06:03","slug":"progressive-activist-a-2020-bostonian-of-the-year-arrested-on-federal-charges-of-fraud-conspiracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/progressive-activist-a-2020-bostonian-of-the-year-arrested-on-federal-charges-of-fraud-conspiracy\/","title":{"rendered":"Progressive Activist, A 2020 \u2018Bostonian Of The Year,\u2019 Arrested On Federal Charges Of Fraud, Conspiracy"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fprogressive-activist-a-2020-bostonian-of-the-year-arrested-on-federal-charges-of-fraud-conspiracy%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1377843&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2022\/03\/Monica.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.3.0\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>On Tuesday morning, Monica Cannon-Grant, a prominent progressive activist in the Boston area, and her husband, Clark Grant, were federally charged and arrested on 18 counts of fraud and conspiracy in relation to her non-profit, Violence in Boston (VIB). Cannon-Grant was named the 2020 \u2018Bostonian of the Year\u2019 by the Boston Globe for activism after the death of George Floyd and for her involvement with protests associated with the Black Lives Matter movement in the city of Boston.<\/p>\n<p>The Boston Herald <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonherald.com\/2022\/03\/15\/monica-cannon-grant-clark-grant-charged-in-18-count-fraud-conspiracy-indictment\/\">reported<\/a> that the charges were announced Tuesday by U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins\u2019 office in part related to a \u201cscheme to defraud donors to their non-profit, VIB\u201d:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><i>Prosecutors allege the couple diverted charitable donations to VIB to their personal expenses, including nail salons, restaurants, food deliveries, hotel reservations, car rentals and auto repairs, among other things, according to prosecutors.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cThe defendants did not disclose to other VIB directors or VIB\u2019s bookkeepers or financial auditors that they had used VIB funds for such payments,\u201d the U.S. Attorney\u2019s office said in a statement announcing the charges.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>According to the paper, the couple is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonherald.com\/2022\/03\/15\/monica-cannon-grant-clark-grant-charged-in-18-count-fraud-conspiracy-indictment\/\">also being charged<\/a> \u201cin connection with conspiracy in connection with access to federal pandemic unemployment benefits.\u201d Likewise, Cannon-Grant and her husband are accused of mortgage fraud:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><i>The couple are also charged with defrauding a mortgage company by submitting \u201cfalse information and fraudulent documentation,\u201d allegedly listing the bank account and financial assets of VIB as their own, on a mortgage application.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The Washington Examiner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/feds-probe-blm-activist-for-allegedly-pilfering-funds-from-charity\">reported<\/a> last week that Cannon-Grant confirmed via podcast that was she being investigated, but that it was because other black leaders \u201cwere jealous of her meteoric rise \u2018partnered with white supremacy\u2019 in an attempt to bring her down\u201d:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><i>\u201cIn 2020, we went from a $40,000, $50,000 a year organization to a [multimillion-dollar] organization \u2014 more money, more problems,\u201d Cannon-Grant said. \u201cThe moment funding started coming in and the world started seeing us doing the work, which prompted awards and accolades, it was, \u2018I want what she got. She don\u2019t deserve it.&#8217;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The Examiner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/feds-probe-blm-activist-for-allegedly-pilfering-funds-from-charity\">also provided more background<\/a> on Cannon-Grant, who has several connections to high-profile Massachusetts Democrats:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><i>Monica Cannon-Grant, the founder and CEO of the charity group Violence in Boston, rose to prominence in the Boston BLM community after George Floyd\u2019s murder in May 2020. Something of a powerbroker in Boston Democratic politics, she <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.masslive.com\/news\/erry-2018\/09\/0e9fe18b8d9493\/who-is-ayanna-pressley-from-a.html\"><i>reportedly<\/i><\/a><i> established a close working relationship with Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu when the two served on the Boston City Council. Former Massachusetts Rep. Joe Kennedy III <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20200901213512\/https:\/kennedyforma.com\/news\/joe-i-know-roxbury-activist-monica-cannon-grant\/\"><i>hailed<\/i><\/a><i> Cannon-Grant\u2019s endorsement of his failed 2020 Senate campaign.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Pressley, a member of \u201cThe Squad\u201d whose district includes parts of Boston, was criticized in 2020 for her connection to Cannon-Grant after the activist, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/joe-kennedy-iii-heckled-at-event-by-would-be-ayanna-pressley-republican-challenger\">reportedly<\/a> served as Pressley\u2019s campaign manager, blasted Pressley\u2019s black GOP opponent for having a white husband, the Examiner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/feds-probe-blm-activist-for-allegedly-pilfering-funds-from-charity\">added<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><i>\u201cThis heifer running against Ayanna Pressley \u2014 this one here with the white husband. At some point, we going to have to have a conversation with black folks who get in a relationship with white folks and then forget that they black,\u201d Cannon-Grant said.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cIf white vagina and white penises jeopardize your melanin, then we need you to sit in the back of the classroom. \u2026 This ain\u2019t your part of the show, and you don\u2019t get to talk right now,\u201d she added.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>She later apologized, and despite those comments, the Globe named Cannon-Grant a \u201cBostonian of the Year\u201d for her social justice activism. The paper <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonglobe.com\/2022\/03\/07\/metro\/boston-activist-under-scrutiny-by-federal-grand-jury\/\">noted<\/a> last week that Boston magazine also awarded her for her efforts in social justice:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/o\/1ueRj\/https:\/www.bostonglobe.com\/2020\/06\/06\/metro\/heres-monica-with-sea-people-behind-her\/\"><i>Cannon-Grant<\/i><\/a><i>, a mother of six, has emerged as a prominent figure in the Black Lives Matter movement in recent years. In 2020, she organized a march in Franklin Park that drew thousands of people to protest the deaths of Black people at the hands of police. She formed a collaboration with the restaurant Food for the Soul in Dorchester to distribute more than 1,000 free meals a day to people struggling during the pandemic.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>For her efforts, she was honored as a Bostonian of the Year by the Boston Globe Magazine and hailed as the city\u2019s \u201cbest social justice advocate<b>\u201d<\/b> by Boston Magazine.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Her charity, VIB, does not have any known connection to the official Black Lives Matter group. In October, her husband was \u201ccharged by criminal complaint in October 2021 with one count of wire fraud and one count of false statements on a loan and credit application. An arraignment date for Grant has not yet been scheduled,\u201d the Herald <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonherald.com\/2022\/03\/15\/monica-cannon-grant-clark-grant-charged-in-18-count-fraud-conspiracy-indictment\/\">added<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Cannon-Grant is expected to appear in court sometime Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p><em>Enter for the chance to hang out with Gina Carano at the premiere of her new Daily Wire movie, Terror on the Prairie! Two lucky Daily Wire members will be given the complete red carpet treatment \u2013 free airfare, hotel, premiere car service, and exclusive merch. Daily Wire members can click <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/redcarpet\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a> to enter for a chance to win. If you\u2019re not a Daily Wire member yet, click <a href=\"http:\/\/dailywire.com\/subscribe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a> to join us so you can win this once-in-a-lifetime experience.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Tuesday morning, Monica Cannon-Grant, a prominent progressive activist in the Boston area, and her husband, Clark Grant, were federally charged and arrested on 18 counts of fraud and conspiracy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1377843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1377843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1377843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1377843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1377843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1377843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1377843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}