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Boston Herald
Boston Herald
15 Dec 2023
Rick Sobey


NextImg:Monica Cannon-Grant’s lawyer doesn’t show up for court hearing: ‘Failed to appear despite notice and attempts to call and email’

Monica Cannon-Grant’s lawyer was a no-show at a federal court hearing for her high-profile fraud case on Friday, as court officials struck out when calling and emailing the absent attorney.

U.S. Attorney prosecutors were all set for Cannon-Grant’s initial pretrial conference in Courtroom 8 of Boston’s U.S. District Court Friday morning. The only problem: Cannon-Grant’s defense attorney was nowhere to be seen.

The court delayed the start of the hearing for 15 minutes to give extra time for Christopher Malcolm to appear in front of District Judge Angel Kelley. But the MIA member of the bar never made it to the federal courtroom.

“Mr. Malcolm failed to appear despite notice and attempts to call and email during court,” the federal court wrote in its electronic filing.

“The Court proceeded with the status conference,” the court added. “Further order will issue regarding next steps.”

The Herald reached out to Malcolm, asking why he failed to appear at the hearing, but he did not immediately respond.

Malcolm is the third attorney to represent Cannon-Grant in the federal case related to her charity Violence in Boston.

Cannon-Grant and her husband Clark Grant, who has since died in a motorcycle crash, were initially indicted in March 2022 on 18 fraud-related counts.

They have been accused of using “a substantial amount” of the money donated or granted to their charity to enrich themselves, with funds going toward paying back rent to nail salon appointments and restaurant meals.

Those 18 fraud counts were upped to 27 counts when prosecutors issued a new indictment earlier this year.

The charges are: Three counts wire fraud conspiracy; one count conspiracy; one count mail fraud, aiding and abetting; 16 counts wire fraud, aiding and abetting; one count making false statements to a mortgage lending business, aiding and abetting; two counts filing false tax returns; two counts failure to file tax returns; and allegations of both wire and mail fraud forfeiture and mortgage fraud forfeiture.

Malcolm became Cannon-Grant’s attorney in February. Robert Goldstein, her first retained attorney, withdrew from the case last September.

His departure followed the news that Violence in Boston had ceased all operations and shut down. Meanwhile, Cannon-Grant was granted the right to apply for state unemployment benefits.

After Goldstein withdrew as her attorney, the court appointed attorney Keith Halpern to the case.

However, the case material was overwhelming, the taxpayer-funded court-appointed attorney said.

Malcolm is a retained attorney, and he said in the past that his services were paid for by a nonprofit set up for Cannon-Grant’s defense.