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A Minnesota charity aimed at interrupting violence has disintegrated amid accusations that its leaders funneled $6.5 million in charitable funds to support extravagant personal lifestyles and a private liquor enterprise.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced a civil lawsuit on Friday targeting the nonprofit We Push for Peace and its former directors, Trahern Pollard and Jaclyn McGuigan.
Prosecutors allege that due to “rampant abuse” and outright self-serving actions, the organization, which had secured lucrative contracts for violence prevention and community outreach, was driven to ruin.
The complaint suggests that Pollard personally siphoned over $6 million from the charity’s funds. Rather than aiding the community, the funds supposedly financed Pollard’s lavish lifestyle, covering trips to Las Vegas, purchasing luxury vehicles, and indulging in extensive shopping at a Harley Davidson showroom and spa boutiques.
Pollard is further accused of misusing the nonprofit to settle personal financial obligations, including child support payments, a tax bill with the IRS, and supporting his private, profit-driven ventures, such as a used car dealership and a liquor store.
McGuigan, who acted as the charity’s treasurer, allegedly transferred a recurring $1,000 per week of nonprofit funds into her own personal account and stole thousands more in government grant funds that she claimed were for “administrative” expenses.
“Instead of helping the community, they helped themselves to millions of dollars that should have gone into the community,” Ellison wrote in a statement.
Prosecutors noted that when the City of Minneapolis requested the nonprofit’s assistance during Operation Metro Surge, a major Homeland Security enforcement operation in Minnesota, the once-multimillion-dollar organization was “utterly incapable” of answering the call.
When state investigators began closing in, Pollard allegedly submitted false statements under the penalty of perjury, falsely claiming a child support payment was “nonprofit overhead” and that a $35,000 payout to his personal friends was “Chicago payroll.”
To justify the missing millions, prosecutors claim Pollard quickly incorporated a fake “for-profit arm” of the charity just days after the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office began asking questions.
He also allegedly set up another new, for-profit corporation called “Change Makers” to drain the nonprofit’s remaining revenue and diverted lucrative community liaison contracts, including a deal with Whole Foods, away from the charity and straight into his newly formed private company, according to court documents.