Minnesota nonprofit accused of siphoning $6.5M to fund Vegas trips, luxury cars, private liquor store

A Minnesota "violence interruption" foundation has collapsed aft its leaders allegedly utilized $6.5 cardinal worthy of charitable funds to bankroll lavish lifestyles and a backstage liquor store.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced connected Friday a civilian suit against nonprofit We Push for Peace and its erstwhile directors, Trahern Pollard and Jaclyn McGuigan.

The organization, which held lucrative contracts for assemblage outreach and unit prevention, was driven into the crushed by "rampant abuse" and blatant self-dealing, prosecutors allege.

According to the complaint, Pollard personally pocketed much than $6 cardinal of the diverted charitable funds. Instead of helping the community, the charity's wealth allegedly fueled a beingness of luxury for Pollard, paying for trips to Las Vegas, luxury vehicles and monolithic buying sprees astatine a Harley Davidson showroom and spa stores.

FILE - Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison speaks astatine a Community Empowerment talker bid astatine the Bridge Center successful Detroit, Mich., connected May 7, 2025. (Monica Morgan/Getty Images)

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Pollard is besides accused of utilizing the nonprofit to wage disconnected his kid support, settee a idiosyncratic taxation measure with the IRS, and subsidize his private, for-profit businesses — including a utilized car dealership and liquor store.

McGuigan, who acted arsenic the charity's treasurer, allegedly transferred a recurring $1,000 per week of nonprofit funds into her ain idiosyncratic relationship and stole thousands much successful authorities assistance funds that she claimed were for "administrative" expenses.

"Instead of helping the community, they helped themselves to millions of dollars that should person gone into the community," Ellison wrote successful a statement.

FILE- FBI and instrumentality enforcement agents raid Mini Childcare (formerly Mako Childcare) successful southbound Minneapolis connected Tuesday, April 28, 2026. Mini Childcare was 1 of 22 sites targeted Tuesday greeting arsenic portion of a fraud probe successful Minnesota. (Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)

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Prosecutors noted that erstwhile the City of Minneapolis requested the nonprofit's assistance during Operation Metro Surge, a large Homeland Security enforcement cognition successful Minnesota, the once-multimillion-dollar enactment was "utterly incapable" of answering the call.

When authorities investigators began closing in, Pollard allegedly submitted mendacious statements nether the punishment of perjury, falsely claiming a kid enactment outgo was "nonprofit overhead" and that a $35,000 payout to his idiosyncratic friends was "Chicago payroll."

FILE - Keith Ellison speaks during a Level of Justice sheet treatment astatine the United Justice Coalition's inaugural Social Justice Summit successful New York City connected July 23, 2022. (Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images)

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To warrant the missing millions, prosecutors assertion Pollard rapidly incorporated a fake "for-profit arm" of the foundation conscionable days aft the Minnesota Attorney General's Office began asking questions.

He besides allegedly acceptable up different new, for-profit corp called "Change Makers" to drain the nonprofit's remaining gross and diverted lucrative assemblage liaison contracts, including a woody with Whole Foods, distant from the foundation and consecutive into his recently formed backstage company, according to tribunal documents.