A charity in Minnesota focused on “violence disruption” has declared bankruptcy following allegations that its leaders misused $6.5 million in charitable assets to support extravagant lifestyles and private liquor stores.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced on Friday that he would file a civil lawsuit against the nonprofit organization, We Push for Peace, along with its former directors, Trahern Pollard and Jaclyn McGuigan.
Though the organization had secure funding for community support and violence prevention, prosecutors claim it collapsed due to “rampant abuse” and overt self-dealing.
The complaint indicates that Pollard personally took over $6 million from misappropriated charity funds. Rather than serving the community, it’s alleged that these funds were used to finance Pollard’s lavish lifestyle, including trips to Las Vegas, luxury vehicles, and significant purchases at a Harley-Davidson dealership and a spa.
Additionally, Pollard is accused of using the nonprofit to cover child support, settle personal tax obligations with the IRS, and support private ventures, like a used car dealership and a liquor store.
McGuigan, who was the charity’s treasurer, reportedly transferred $1,000 weekly from nonprofit funds to her personal account and misappropriated significant sums from government grants, mislabeling them as “administrative” expenses.
“Instead of helping the community, they made millions for themselves that should have been used for community betterment,” Ellison remarked.
Prosecutors noted that the once-thriving organization was utterly unable to assist Minneapolis during Operation Metro Surge, a major homeland security enforcement initiative in Minnesota.
When state investigators reached out, Pollard purportedly provided false statements, under the threat of perjury, insisting the child support payments were “non-commercial expenses” and that a $35,000 payment to a personal friend was merely “Chicago payroll.”
Allegations also suggest that Pollard quickly established a fake “for-profit arm” of the charity just days after the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office began its inquiry, in an attempt to account for the missing funds.
Documents reveal he launched a new for-profit corporation named Changemakers to siphon off the nonprofit’s remaining assets, redirecting lucrative community liaison contracts—like one with Whole Foods—away from the charity and into this newly established business.
