Trahern Pollard And Jaclyn Mcguigan Face $6.5 Million Lawsuit
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced a civil lawsuit on Friday against We Push for Peace and its former directors, trahern pollard and jaclyn mcguigan, alleging misuse of $6.5 million in charitable funds. The complaint says Pollard and McGuigan used nonprofit money for trips, personal bills, and private business support.
Ellison said in response to the lawsuit, "Instead of helping the community, they helped themselves to millions of dollars that should have gone into the community," a charge aimed at how the money moved through the nonprofit and into personal use.
Pollard's alleged spending
According to the complaint, Pollard personally pocketed more than $6 million of the diverted charitable funds. Prosecutors allege nonprofit money paid for trips to Las Vegas, luxury vehicles, and shopping sprees at a Harley Davidson showroom and spa stores. He is also accused of using the nonprofit to pay off his child support and settle a personal tax bill with the IRS.
The complaint says Pollard used nonprofit funds to subsidize his private, for-profit businesses, including a used car dealership and liquor store. It also alleges that when state investigators began closing in, he submitted false statements under the penalty of perjury, saying a child support payment was "nonprofit overhead" and a $35,000 payout to his personal friends was "Chicago payroll."
McGuigan's account transfers
McGuigan, identified as the charity's treasurer, allegedly transferred a recurring $1,000 per week of nonprofit funds into her own personal account. The complaint also says she stole thousands more in government grant funds that she claimed were for administrative expenses.
The lawsuit says We Push for Peace held lucrative contracts for community outreach and violence prevention before the alleged misuse of funds drove the organization into the ground. Prosecutors said that when the City of Minneapolis requested the nonprofit's assistance during Operation Metro Surge, the organization was "utterly incapable" of answering the call.
Operation Metro Surge
The case now moves into civil court, where Ellison's complaint puts the nonprofit's finances, its contracts, and the conduct of its former leaders at issue. For Minneapolis and state partners that relied on the organization, the filing turns those losses into a legal dispute over who controlled the money and how it was spent.
