BOSTON (WWLP) – A superseding indictment was filed Thursday against the former CEO and founder of the local nonprofit Violence in Boston (VIB) and her husband, who was also a founding director of the organization, for additional schemes of defrauding the City of Boston of COVID-19 relief funds. 

According to a news release from the Department of Justice, it has been revealed that Monica Cannon-Grant, 42, and Clark Grant, 39, both of Taunton, were charged with three counts of wire fraud conspiracy, 17 counts of wire fraud, one conspiracy, and one false statement to a mortgage lending business under a 27-count superseding indictment returned by the federal grand jury. There is a new charge of wire fraud involving schemes that involved obtaining and utilizing pandemic assistance funds from the Boston Resiliency Fund for purposes that were not disclosed to the City, including personal gain, as well as fraudulently obtaining rental assistance payments from the Office of Housing Stability in Boston. 

Furthermore, Cannon-Grant was charged with mail fraud, filing false tax returns, and failing to file tax returns. A previous 18-count indictment against Cannon-Grant and Clark Grant was filed in March 2022.

In 2017, Cannon-Grant founded and served as CEO of VIB, an anti-violence nonprofit that aims to reduce violence, raise social awareness, and help community causes in Boston. Cannon-Grant’s husband Grant is a founding director of VIB and worked for a commuter services company from July 2018 until recently.

A superseding indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to defraud the Boston Resiliency Fund, a charitable fund established by the City of Boston to provide aid to Boston residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately $30,000 in cash was allegedly withdrawn from the VIB bank account by the defendants after receiving approximately $53,977 in pandemic relief funds. 

The defendants are also accused of using VIB monies to settle their auto loan and auto insurance debts after depositing the COVID-19 relief grant cheque. The superseding indictment further claims that the defendants planned to mislead Boston’s Office of Housing Stability by hiding thousands of dollars in household income in order to get $12,600 in rental assistance from the City of Boston.

The defendants allegedly lied about their actual household income to obtain rent relief funds that were intended to help Boston residents who were facing housing insecurity, rather than declaring that Clark Grant was receiving pandemic unemployment assistance (on top of his salary) and that other family members were gainfully employed and receiving pandemic unemployment (in the case of one other family member).

The defendants allegedly planned to defraud the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance by providing a forged employment document in order for another family member to receive about $43,893 in unemployment benefits. This brings the total amount of fraudulent unemployment benefits received by the defendants and their accomplices to about $145,269, according to the allegations.

Last but not least, the superseding indictment claims that Cannon-Grant filed false tax returns for the years 2017 and 2018 and failed to file any returns for the years 2019 or 2020, failing to disclose tens of thousands of dollars she received from VIB and a company she had a consulting agreement with.

At a later date, the defendants will appear in federal court in Boston. If you believe you are a victim of or have information pertaining to the crimes alleged against the defendants, you may contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts at: (617) 748-3663.