A Boston-based Black Lives Matter activist who admitted to stealing more than $100,000 in public and charitable funds was sentenced in federal court to probation and home confinement, avoiding any prison time despite prosecutors seeking an 18-month sentence, as reported by the Gateway Pundit.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, Monica Cannon-Grant, 44, of Taunton, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Boston by Angel Kelley to four years of probation, including six months of home detention and 100 hours of community service.
NEW: Monica Cannon-Grant, Boston community organizer who pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges last year sentenced to 4 years probation and 6 months home confinement @7News pic.twitter.com/wEIQnBvesd
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Cannon-Grant was also ordered to pay $106,003 in restitution, with forfeiture to be determined at a later date.
Federal prosecutors had recommended a sentence of 18 months in prison.
Cannon-Grant is the founder and former chief executive officer of Violence in Boston (VIB), a Boston-based nonprofit. She previously received public recognition in the city, including being named “Bostonian of the Year.”
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According to court records and statements from prosecutors, Cannon-Grant used donations and public funds intended for community programs and COVID-19 relief to cover personal expenses.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office detailed that she defrauded multiple entities, including the City of Boston, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, and charitable organizations, while also filing false tax returns and failing to file tax returns for two separate years.
“From 2017 through at least 2020, Cannon-Grant represented herself as an uncompensated VIB director to donors and other charitable institutions when, in reality, she and her late husband agreed to utilize their control over VIB’s accounts and funds to pay for personal expenditures,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated.
Prosecutors said Cannon-Grant conspired to defraud the Boston Resiliency Fund, a charitable fund created by the City of Boston to assist residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
After receiving approximately $53,977 in pandemic relief funds, Cannon-Grant withdrew about $30,000 in cash from VIB’s bank account, deposited $5,200 and $1,000 into her personal checking account, and made payments on her personal auto loan and car insurance policy.
Federal authorities said Cannon-Grant failed to disclose these personal expenditures and instead falsely reported to the Boston Resiliency Fund that all grant funds had been properly spent.
Cannon-Grant also conspired to defraud Boston’s Office of Housing Stability by concealing household income to obtain $12,600 in rental assistance.
Prosecutors stated that Cannon-Grant and her late husband misrepresented their earnings and benefits in order to qualify for housing aid intended for residents facing housing insecurity.
In addition to fraud involving COVID-19 relief and rental assistance, Cannon-Grant was convicted of defrauding the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office out of Community Reinvestment Grant funds and filing false federal tax returns.
The sentencing marks the conclusion of a high-profile federal case involving misuse of pandemic-era relief funds, which were distributed rapidly during the COVID-19 emergency to support individuals and nonprofit organizations across Massachusetts.
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