MINNEAPOLIS, MN - And the beat goes on with fraud and corruption in Minneapolis, as Fox-9 is reporting that two former directors of a city nonprofit stand accused of misusing over $6.5 million in charitable assets, according to a lawsuit filed by the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office.
Trahern Pollard and Jacklyn McGuigan, former directors of “We Push for Peace,” are named in the lawsuit filed by usually feckless Attorney General Keith Ellison. The complaint alleges that Pollard and McGuigan violated numerous charity laws by misusing assets, thereby creating additional risks to the nonprofit. Ellison’s office launched an investigation into Merwin Liquors in North Minneapolis in 2022. That store is owned by Pollard.
In the lawsuit filed in Hennepin County against the pair, Ellison’s office alleges that Pollard personally benefited in the sum of over $6 million, spending charitable money on luxury cars, trips to Las Vegas, child support payments, and even funding his private liquor store and car dealership.
In addition, it is alleged that Pollard and McGuigan tried to hide their actions from state investigators and tax authorities. They lied to investigators, including telling them the child support payment was for nonprofit expenses and mislabeling a $35,000 payment to friends as “Chicago Payroll.”
Ellison said his office worked with the new leadership of We Push for Peace to keep it afloat, but ongoing violations by Pollard and McGuigan forced his hand.
The lawsuit alleges that the duo’s actions led to the collapse of the nonprofit. Pollard then created for-profit businesses, including one called “Change Makers,” to take over the nonprofits' contracts and workers for his own benefit. When the city reached out during Operation Metro Surge, the nonprofit could not provide support because it ran out of resources and capacity.
There was no active board of directors, the nonprofit failed to hold required meetings, and lacked basic policies and safeguards to protect its assets, the lawsuit alleges.
Moreover, the lawsuit alleges that the organization failed to keep proper financial records and engaged in conflicts of interest and improper lending.
Ellison released the following statement:
“We Push for Peace’s former leaders betrayed their basic duties to the nonprofit and communities they were supposed to serve. Instead of helping the community, they helped themselves to millions of dollars that should have gone into the community. During Operation Metro Surge, when we needed nonprofits providing social services and community support the most, We Push for Peace was utterly incapable of assisting Minnesotans. When my Office asked questions, Pollard and McGuigan lied about key facts, continued to misuse assets, and ultimately caused the demise of the nonprofit. We filed this lawsuit to redress these harms and hold its former leaders accountable.”
In 2020, the nonprofit had total revenue of $267,089, which rose to $6,970,128 in 2024. In 2025, that number shrank by around two-thirds to $ 1,944,332. The AG’s complaint notes that much of the nonprofit's funds were used to pay child support and personal taxes.
In 2022, Pollard transferred assets to himself from the nonprofit’s bank account. There was also a $1,000 ATM withdrawal in Las Vegas. Money from the nonprofit was also transferred to Pollard’s private businesses, including the liquor store and a car dealership.
After Pollard and McGuigan were made aware of the state’s investigation, Pollard transferred at least $56,040 from the nonprofit. He did so by depositing store revenue checks made out to We Push for Peace into a separate bank account under his control.
After his access to the nonprofit funds was revoked, Pollard opened a for-profit business called Change Makers Service Corporation, but hid the creation of that company from Ellison’s office.
He then opened separate bank accounts for Change Makers and began depositing checks made out to We Push for Peace into the Change Makers' accounts. Nearly $1 million of those deposited checks were made out to We Push for Peace, not Change Makers.
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