Boston’s ‘Best Social Justice Advocate’ Learns Fate After Stealing $224K From the BLM Movement for Vacations, Dinners

For years, Monica Cannon-Grant was the undisputed voice of Boston’s streets, a “Bostonian of the Year” who could mobilize thousands with a single megaphone and a raised fist. But behind the scenes of the city’s massive 2020 Black Lives Matter movement, a deceptive operation was quietly unfolding.

After Cannon-Grant founded Violence in Boston Inc. in 2017 out of her home in Roxbury, her rise in the community organizing scene was meteoric. Boston Magazine called Cannon-Grant the city’s “best social justice advocate” after she helped lead protest marches after George Floyd’s death in 2020, we previously told you.

Until it was discovered she had been stealing hundreds of thousands from her own charity, amongst other federal crimes for two years.

According to a court order obtained by Mass Daily News, Cannon-Grant diverted roughly $181,000 from the nonprofit she founded, pocketed more than $33,000 in fraudulent pandemic unemployment benefits and received nearly $12,600 in rental assistance benefits—all of which she must now pay back.

Cannon-Grant pleaded guilty to 18 counts: three counts of wire fraud conspiracy; 10 counts of wire fraud; one count of mail fraud; two counts of filing false tax returns; and two counts of failing to file tax returns in September 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.

Her co-conspirator and late husband Clark Grant was also charged in a 27-count superseding indictment, but Clark Grant’s charges were dismissed in May 2023 after he died in a motorcycle accident.

U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley ordered Cannon-Grant to return every stolen cent, just two months after mandating an additional $106,000 in restitution.

Despite using thousands of nonprofit donations to pay for vacations, dinners and car rentals, lying about her income to secure subsidized housing benefits and defrauding COVID-19 relief fund, Cannon-Grant will face zero prison time.

Prosecutors requested the 44-year-old serve 18 months in prison, however in January, Judge Kelley gave her four years of probation, 100 hours of community service and six months of home detention.

“Monica Cannon-Grant’s crimes were not a momentary lapse in judgment— they were a calculated pattern of deception that spanned years,” United States Attorney Leah B. Foley said, adding how Cannon-Grant “repeatedly lied to donors, government agencies, and the public, even after being caught— all while presenting herself as a champion for others.”

Foley continued, “Fraud disguised as activism or charity is still fraud. You don’t get partial credit for stealing. This case makes clear that exploiting public trust for personal enrichment is a serious federal crime, no matter how it is packaged.”

At her January sentencing, Cannon-Grant told Judge Kelley she took “full ownership” of her actions, is “truly apologetic” and “extremely proud” of her nonprofit’s work.