AG Keith Ellison sues violence-prevention charity over alleged $6.5M fraud
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A “violence intervention” charity in Minnesota collapsed after its leaders allegedly used $6.5 million worth of charity funds to fund lavish lifestyles and a private liquor store.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Friday that a civil lawsuit will be filed against the nonprofit We Push for Peace and its former executives Trahern Pollard and Jaclyn McGuigan.
Prosecutors allege the organization, which awarded lucrative contracts for community outreach and violence prevention, was destroyed by “widespread abuse” and reckless self-interest.
According to the complaint, Pollard personally pocketed more than $6 million of the diverted philanthropic funds. Instead of helping the community, the charity’s money allegedly fueled a life of luxury, paying for trips to Las Vegas, luxury vehicles and grand shopping sprees at a Harley Davidson showroom and spa shops.
FILE – Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison speaks at the Community Empowerment speaker series at the Bridge Center on May 7, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan. (Monica Morgan/Getty Images)
INSIDE MINNESOTA’S $1 BILLION FRAUD: FAKE OFFICES, FAKE COMPANIES AND A SCANDAL HIDING IN SIGHT
Pollard is also accused of using the nonprofit to pay his child support, settle his personal tax bill with the IRS and provide financial support for his private for-profit businesses, including a used car dealership and liquor store.
McGuigan, who served as the charity’s treasurer, allegedly transferred up to $1,000 a week from nonprofit funds into his personal account and stole thousands in government grant funds that he claimed were for “administrative” expenses.
“Instead of helping the community, they helped themselves to millions of dollars that should have gone to the community,” Ellison wrote in a statement.
FILE – FBI and law enforcement raid Mini Child Care (formerly Mako Child Care) in south Minneapolis on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. Mini Child Care was one of 22 sites targeted Tuesday morning as part of a fraud investigation in Minnesota. (Anthony Sofle/Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)
MAJOR MEDICAID FRAUD PROJECT PUT MINNESOTA’S FEDERAL FUNDS AT RISK — AND THE CONSEQUENCES COULD GET FURTHER
When the City of Minneapolis requested the nonprofit’s assistance during Operation Metro Surge, a massive Homeland Security enforcement operation in Minnesota, the once multimillion-dollar organization was “completely incompetent” to answer the call, prosecutors said.
When state investigators began closing in, Pollard allegedly made false statements under penalty of perjury, claiming that the child support payment was a “nonprofit overhead” and that the $35,000 payment to personal friends was “Chicago payroll.”
FILE – Keith Ellison speaks during the Level of Justice panel discussion at the United Justice Coalition’s inaugural Social Justice Summit on July 23, 2022 in New York City. (Şerif Ziyadat/Getty Images)
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To justify the missing millions, prosecutors allege 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 formed a new, for-profit company called “Change Makers” to drain the nonprofit’s remaining revenue and redirect lucrative community contact contracts, including a deal with Whole Foods, away from the charity and directly into his newly formed private company, according to court documents.
