She marched. She shouted. She fought for justice. But behind the scenes, a different story was unfolding for activist Monica Cannon-Grant. Now, the disgraced Black Lives Matter advocate has become the headline…for all the wrong reasons.
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After years of accusations of fraud and indictment, Cannon-Grant’s fate has officially been sealed after she recently entered a plea for a 27-count superseding indictment. Let’s break it down.
The Rise of Monica Cannon-Grant
Monica Cannon-Grant is a Boston community activist who rose to prominence after George Floyd was killed in May 2020. To protest police violence, she led a massive, and peaceful, march of thousands to Boston’s Franklin Park. The gathering, per MassLive.com, even began with a “die-in” before speaking about Floyd’s death at the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital.
Lending her time and voice to the cause, she founded and became the CEO of the anti-violence nonprofit Violence in Boston (VIB) in 2017. Established with just $1,000, Cannon-Grant and company became “a one-stop-shop for comprehensive victim services” to “any resident who experiences any form of violence,” according to its website.
The Massachusetts native championed for Black Lives Matter (BLM) in Boston in 2017, and was even named “Bostonian of the Year” by “The Boston Globe” three years later. Cannon-Grant, who also served on the Young Adult Committee for the NAACP, was also called the city’s best “social justice advocate” by “Boston Magazine.”
The Fall of Monica Cannon-Grant
After a joint federal and state investigation, it was discovered that Cannon-Grant would apply for public and private grants and donations, claiming the funds would help with VIB’s charitable purposes. But that’s not what she did with the money.
According to a March 2023 indictment, from 2017 through at least 2020, after Cannon-Grant exercised exclusive control over VIB’s finances, she would withdraw cash, make debit purchases, cash checks, and transfer money to her personal bank accounts to fund her lifestyle.
Her husband, Clark Grant, was named as her co-conspirator, and he was also charged. On March 29, 2023, Clark, who served as VIB’s founding director, died in a motorcycle crash on Route 138 in Easton, CBS News reported at the time. He was 39. His charges were dismissed due to his death, but hers were not.
What Did She Do With the Money?
The 44-year-old was accused of using the grant and donation money to pay for hotel stays, groceries, gas, and car rentals, local Boston news station WHDH 7 reported.
She, and allegedly her husband, used the money to pay for trips to the nail shop, Ubers, high-priced dinners, and a vacation to Maryland. According to the Massachusetts’ District Attorney, “The defendants did not disclose to other VIB directors or VIB’s bookkeepers or financial auditors that they had used VIB funds for such payments.”
But That’s Not All…
The indictment also charged Cannon-Grant and Grant with “defrauding the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance by submitting false documents to obtain Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits that they were not entitled to receive.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Cannon-Grant filed false tax returns in 2017 and 2018 and didn’t bother to file any for 2019 and 2020.
That’s Still Not All…
The husband and wife was also indicted for receiving $53,977 in pandemic relief for VIB from the Boston Resiliency Fund, a city-run charitable fund that provided essential services to residents. Per the indictment, Cannon-Grant withdrew about $30,000 in cash from the account and kept it for her personal use, including payments for a car loan and car insurance.
Additionally, Cannon-Grant concealed her true household income from the Boston’s Office of Housing Stability, therefore taking home $12,600 in rental assistance. According to the indictment, she also forged a document to the state Department of Unemployment Assistance so that a family member could get in on the fraud too, taking home nearly $44,000 in unemployment funds.
The Charges
It didn’t take long for the feds to show up — with a bevy of charges to boot. She was arrested on March 22, 2022.
Cannon-Grant and her husband was indicted that March 14, 2022. They were charged with three counts of wire fraud conspiracy, ten 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.
The Plea
On Monday, Sept. 22, Cannon-Grant plead guilty to 18 of the 27 counts. NBC Boston reported that Cannon-Grant admitted to wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, mail fraud, filing false tax returns and failing to file tax returns.
She will be sentenced on Jan. 29, 2026, and according to The Boston Herald, federal prosecutors want her behind bars for at least 18-24 months.
The Fall Out
Callie Crossley, a Black writer, wrote how Cannon-Grant “left the rest of us holding the bag for having believed.” She added how she felt “let down, disappointed, and worse, betrayed.”
“Monica Cannon-Grant repeatedly scammed multiple public financial programs and stole money donated by members of the public who believed their donations would aid in reducing violence and promote social awareness,” U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah Foley said. “Instead, Cannon-Grant used donations to satisfy her own greed, while falsely portraying herself as a legitimate nonprofit organizer.”
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