Charity bosses are accused of stealing $6.5m to fund lavish trips, expensive vehicles and a private liquor store, lawsuit claims
The leaders of a defunct Minneapolis violence-prevention charity are being sued for allegedly stealing $6.5 million to fund lavish personal expenses.
Trahern Pollard and Jaclyn McGuigan, the former leaders of We Push For Peace, were named as defendants in a civil lawsuit filed by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on Friday.
We Push For Peace was founded by Pollard in the aftermath of the George Floyd protests and granted millions of dollars worth of contracts for community outreach and violence prevention.
But the lawsuit alleges that Pollard, who was the face of the nonprofit and frequently featured in the news, pocketed $6 million from those contracts to pay for trips to Las Vegas, luxury vehicles and shopping sprees at Harley Davidson.
He is also accused of using the money to pay for child support and taxes, as well as to subsidize his private liquor store and used car dealership businesses.
The lawsuit also said that Pollard mislabeled $35,000 in payments he had sent to friends as ‘Chicago payroll.’
The other defendant in the case, McGuigan, is accused of transferring $1,000 from the charity into a personal account every week, as well as stealing thousands more from government grants and labeling the transfers as ‘administrative’ expenses.
McGuigan acted as the nonprofit’s treasurer since at least 2023, and prosecutors say she laundered most of the funds through her accounts, though Pollard spent most of the money.
Trahern Pollard, founder of nonprofit We Push For Peace, is being sued by the Minnesota Attorney General for allegedly stealing $6.5 million from the organization. Pollard is pictured posing in front of the Capitol Building
Prosecutors allege that Pollard used the stolen funds to fund a lavish lifestyle and luxury purchases. Pollard (left) is pictured with a friend
Pollard is accused of funding lavish trips to Las Vegas using the charity’s money. The Las Vegas strip is pictured (stock image)
Prosecutors further alleged that the misuse of the charity’s funds went on for more than five years.
‘Instead of helping the community, they helped themselves to millions of dollars that should have gone into the community,’ Attorney General Ellison said in a statement.
The investigation into Pollard began in 2022, when the office of the Minnesota attorney general announced that it was looking into the north Minneapolis Merwin Liquors store.
The liquor store was infamous for being the site of violence and drug deals, and Pollard purchased it with the aim of bettering the neighborhood.
The move received media attention and bolstered the reputation of his nonprofit and his image as a community leader.
But the lawsuit alleges that Pollard used funds from We Push For Peace to pay his employees at the store, despite the entities being separate.
Pollard and McGuigan caused the charity to fall apart after the founder created a distinct, for-profit business called Change Makers to take over the contracts that had been issued to the nonprofit, according to the lawsuit.
One of those contracts was with Whole Foods, which cut ties with Pollard last year.
Pollard is accused of using the charity’s funds to subsidize his private businesses, including this liquor store in Minneapolis
Pollard is also accused of using the charity money to pay for child support and taxes, as well as sending payments to friends
The disgraced charity leader allegedly moved the contracts and other revenue from the charity to his for-profit business after We Push For Peace elected a new board and attempted to block funds from the founder.
He allegedly deposited checks made out to We Push For Peace into accounts for his for-profit business, Change Makers, to the tune of at least $930,794.
Those actions allegedly hollowed out the charity, so when the City of Minneapolis reached out for help during a major federal immigration enforcement mission, Operation Metro Surge, the nonprofit did not have the capacity to provide support.
The lawsuit accused Pollard and McGuigan of keeping inaccurate financial records and taking out improper loans.
Attorney General Ellison’s office estimated that between 2020 and 2025, We Push For Peace had more than $25 million in revenue.
Ellison’s office said that in 2022 and 2023, the nonprofit had $6.8 million and $6.4 million in revenue.
According to the nonprofit’s IRS filings for those years, however, We Push For Peace only reported $697,165 of revenue in 2022 and $103,207 of revenue in 2023.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Pollard and McGuigan for comment.
