Nonprofit’s $6.5M Vegas Splurge: Scandal Unfolds

Las Vegas Strip at night with bright neon lights.

A Minneapolis nonprofit founded to stop violence after the George Floyd riots allegedly became a personal ATM — funneling more than $6.5 million in charitable funds into Las Vegas trips, luxury cars, a private liquor store, and child support payments for its own director.

Story Snapshot

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a 37-page civil lawsuit against We Push for Peace and former directors Trahern Pollard and Jaclyn McGuigan for allegedly misusing over $6.5 million in charitable funds.
Pollard allegedly pocketed more than $6 million personally, spending on Las Vegas trips, luxury vehicles, Harley-Davidson shopping sprees, spa stores, and even his own child support and IRS tax bills.
Treasurer McGuigan allegedly transferred $1,000 per week from nonprofit accounts into her personal bank account and falsely claimed stolen grant money as “administrative expenses.”
When the City of Minneapolis called on the nonprofit for help during a major federal enforcement operation, the organization was “utterly incapable” of responding — drained dry by its own leaders.

Violence Prevention Nonprofit Turned Personal Piggy Bank

We Push for Peace was established in Minneapolis as a violence interruption organization, drawing millions in city and county government contracts. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a civil lawsuit against the nonprofit and its former directors, Trahern Pollard and Jaclyn McGuigan, alleging they treated charitable funds as a personal slush fund. “Instead of helping the community, they helped themselves to millions of dollars that should have gone into the community,” Ellison stated in a public announcement of the lawsuit.

According to the 37-page complaint, Pollard personally diverted more than $6 million for his own benefit. Alleged expenditures include trips to Las Vegas, luxury vehicle purchases, and massive shopping sprees at a Harley-Davidson showroom and spa retailers. Pollard also allegedly used nonprofit funds to pay off personal child support obligations and settle a tax bill with the Internal Revenue Service — expenses that have nothing to do with reducing violence in Minneapolis neighborhoods.

Shell Companies and Stolen Contracts

Pollard’s alleged scheme extended beyond personal spending. Court documents indicate he created a for-profit corporation called “Change Makers” specifically to siphon the nonprofit’s remaining revenue. He then allegedly redirected lucrative community liaison contracts — including a deal with Whole Foods — away from We Push for Peace and straight into his private company. This maneuver effectively stripped the charity of income it had legitimately earned through its community work.

Pollard also allegedly used nonprofit funds to subsidize two additional for-profit businesses: a used car dealership and a private liquor store. The state’s complaint notes that Pollard carries a prior conviction for theft by swindle — a detail that raises serious questions about why government agencies continued awarding this organization taxpayer-funded contracts without stronger oversight and accountability measures in place.

Treasurer’s Weekly Withdrawals and a Collapsed Organization

McGuigan, who served as the charity’s treasurer, allegedly ran her own parallel theft operation. The complaint accuses her of setting up a recurring $1,000-per-week transfer from nonprofit accounts directly into her personal bank account. She also allegedly claimed thousands of dollars in stolen government grant money as legitimate “administrative expenses” — a classic cover tactic used to obscure embezzlement from auditors and oversight bodies.

The cumulative damage left We Push for Peace financially gutted. When the City of Minneapolis requested the organization’s assistance during Operation Metro Surge — a major U.S. Department of Homeland Security enforcement operation in Minnesota — the once-multimillion-dollar nonprofit was described in court filings as “utterly incapable” of responding. The very communities these leaders claimed to serve were left without help at a critical moment. The defendants have publicly denied the allegations, calling the lawsuit “filled with lies,” but the civil case is now moving forward in court. Minnesota has seen a disturbing pattern of government-funded nonprofit fraud in recent years, and this case fits squarely into that troubling trend.