Violence in Boston is shutting down, according to the local nonprofit's website, as founders Monica Cannon-Grant and Clark Grant face federal fraud and conspiracy charges.
The Taunton couple, prominent activists in Boston, pleaded not guilty in March to an indictment that includes defrauding the organization and its donors as well as committing unemployment fraud. Cannon-Grant and her husband are accused of using donations for personal expenses and collecting about $100,000 in illegal unemployment benefits, among other charges.
Violence in Boston was founded in 2017 with the goal of reducing violence, raising social awareness and aiding community causes in Boston. Cannon-Grant is the organization's CEO and Grant is a founding director and until recently worked for a commuter services company.
"I can’t speak on whether the decision to dissolve the organization was an easy one to make, as this decision was made by the Violence in Boston board of directors," reads a message on the Violence in Boston website.
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In a longer message posted to Facebook, and signed by Cannon-Grant, she gave thanks "to the community who quite literally helped build Violence in Boston, and to our supporters who enabled us to make the impact we did during our short time together. I’m humbled to have served as founder and CEO and to have crossed paths with so many dedicated community members along the way. The work continues."
Cannon-Grant, 41, and Grant, 38, are accused of using the organization’s funds for personal expenses including hotel stays, restaurant meals and a trip to a nail salon.
Cannon-Grant’s activism, including the organization of a rally in the city in 2020 to protest the killing of George Floyd and other Black people by police, has earned her numerous awards, such as The Boston Globe Magazine’s Bostonian of the Year award and a Boston Celtics Heroes Among Us award, both in 2020.
The husband and wife were charged in an 18-count indictment with two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of conspiracy, 13 counts of wire fraud and one count of making false statements to a mortgage lending business based in Chicago. The indictment also charges Cannon-Grant with one count of mail fraud.
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Prosecutors said that the couple diverted a significant portion of the grants to Violence in Boston for their own use. That included a $6,000 grant that was supposed to be used to take at-risk young men to a retreat in Philadelphia, but was instead used for a vacation to Maryland, including hotels, rental cars and meals out, according to the indictment.
They also fraudulently applied for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits that they knew they were not eligible to receive because they had other sources of income, and lied to a mortgage lender by saying Violence in Boston’s assets were their own to help pay for mortgage fees and closing costs, prosecutors said.
Cannon-Grant’s attorney, Robert Goldstein, has said prosecutors have “rushed to judgment” in the case.
More on Violence in Boston
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
