It might surprise you to learn that Black Lives Matter (BLM) appears to be going through another financial scandal. Well, perhaps after the news exposing the reality that the global organization appears to have gotten funny with the money broke late last year, it might not exactly be a shocker.
The Boston Globe reported about a community organizer in the city who became well-known after organizing protests in the wake of the George Floyd murder. She is now under federal investigation over allegations that she and her husband misused donations given to her nonprofit, Violence in Boston Inc. The author writes:
Monica Cannon-Grant, 41, who started her charity with $1,000 in 2017 and now operates out of a 4,000-square-foot headquarters in Hyde Park, has come under scrutiny as part of an investigation by the US Attorney’s office that led to the October arrest of her husband, Clark Grant, and the raid of their Taunton home.
A federal grand jury issued a subpoena for records from the Suffolk District Attorney’s office, which is one of several public and private entities that donated to the activist’s organization. Investigators are attempting to ascertain whether any of the donations or grant money the organization received were used for personal expenses.
Monica Cannon-Grant, after rising to prominence, established a relationship with Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu when both were still members of the city council.
Clark Grant, Monica’s husband, is suspected of committing COVID unemployment fraud and making false statements on a mortgage application. “Federal prosecutors allege he collected $67,950 in COVID-19 pandemic unemployment benefits between May 2020 and September 2021 although he was employed full time during that period, according to a 15-page criminal complaint,” according to The Globe.
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Grant also listed the nonprofit’s bank account as his own when he and his wife applied for a $402,573 mortgage for their house. Cannon-Grant was honored as the Bostonian of the Year by Boston Globe Magazine for her work after she organized a march in protest of police brutality which attracted thousands.
During a web radio show, she denied any wrongdoing, claiming that white supremacists, the government, and a group of black folks were targeting her because of jealousy over her success. She repeated a familiar maxim, “more money, more problems” and claimed, “nobody paid me any mind” when she was doing her work out of a kitchen and parking lots. She asserted that after winning “awards and accolades,” people targeted her because they did not feel she deserved them.
There isn’t much information on the nonprofit’s finances yet because it has not yet filed tax documentation that is required of public charities. However, The Globe did confirm the group raised and spent $85,000 after viewing a tax return filed for 2020. Additionally, an affidavit filed in Clark Grant’s case indicated the organization had over $447,000 in its bank account.
Black Lives Matter’s financial shenanigans were first exposed after a Washington Examiner investigation found that the group had millions of dollars in donations that were unaccounted for. The news outlet also found that nobody seems to be officially in charge of the global organization. The State of California’s Department of Justice issued a warning to the group over its failure to file appropriate financial paperwork and the group is also being investigated in Washington state.
But isn’t it slightly odd that none of this news has hit any mainstream media outlets? Sure, by itself it is not a huge deal. But after it was revealed that the global organization might not be on the up-and-up, wouldn’t this have garnered at least some coverage? Moreover, could this be yet another sign that the group is on a downward trajectory?
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