Renowned civil rights activist, husband are indicted on fraud charges

Michael P. Norton
·2 min read

BOSTON — The founder of an anti-violence organization was arrested Tuesday and faces federal charges associated with the alleged use of donations and grants to the nonprofit for personal expenses, including hotels, car rentals and gas, groceries, nail salons, and auto repairs.

Monica Cannon-Grant, 41, and her husband Clark Grant, 38, were charged in an 18-count indictment announced Tuesday by the U.S. Attorney's Office. The conspiracy and wire fraud charges extend to allegations that they also defrauded the Department of Unemployment Assistance and a mortgage lending business based in Chicago.

Monica Cannon-Grant leads demonstrators as they march from Nubian Square to Boston Police headquarters last April as they celebrate the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin and demand for an end to police brutality.
Monica Cannon-Grant leads demonstrators as they march from Nubian Square to Boston Police headquarters last April as they celebrate the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin and demand for an end to police brutality.

Cannon-Grant became a household name in MetroWest last spring when she became a spokeswoman for the family of Mikayla Miller, a 16-year-old Hopkinton girl who was found hanged on West Central Street. The chief medical examiner ruled the death a suicide; Cannon-Grant and the girl's family maintain the teen was murdered.

Cannon-Grant, founder and CEO of Violence in Boston, made her initial appearance in federal court later on Tuesday in Boston. Prosecutors say her husband was previously charged in October with one count of wire fraud and one count of false statements on a loan and credit application. Grant's arraignment on the charges announced Tuesday has not yet been scheduled.

The indictment alleges that from 2017 through at least 2020, Cannon-Grant and Grant, both of Taunton, "exercised exclusive control over VIB financial accounts and diverted VIB money to themselves through cash withdrawals, cashed checks, debit purchases and transfers to their personal bank accounts."

The anti-violence nonprofit was established in 2017 with the goal of reducing violence, raising social awareness and aiding community causes in Boston. Grant is a founding director of VIB, and until recently was a full-time employee for a commuter services company, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Activist Monica Cannon Grant, and others, called for justice in the death of Mikayla Miller, a teenager from Hopkinton.
Activist Monica Cannon Grant, and others, called for justice in the death of Mikayla Miller, a teenager from Hopkinton.

Prosecutors allege the couple also fraudulently obtained Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits and used false information in the summer of 2021 when applying for a home mortgage loan.

According to the indictment, Cannon-Grant and Grant from 2017 to 2021 fundraised, solicited and received more than $1 million in donations and grants from individuals, charitable institutions and other entities.

In 2016, Cannon-Grant ran for state representative as Monica Cannon and earned 801 votes in the Democratic primary. Chynah Tyler won the primary with 905 votes and has held the 7th Suffolk House seat since.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Monica Cannon-Grant, husband indicted on fraud charges at nonprofit