Image shows Trahern Pollard, former director of We Push for Peace. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Two former directors of the nonprofit "We Push for Peace" are accused of misusing more than $6.5 million in charitable assets, according to a lawsuit filed by the Minnesota Attorney General's Office.
According to the complaint, Trahern Pollard and Jaclyn McGuigan allegedly violated numerous charity laws when they abused the assets and caused other risks to the nonprofit.
The Minnesota attorney general announced an investigation into the north Minneapolis Merwin Liquors store back in 2022, which is owned by Pollard.
FOX 9 has reached out to We Push For Peace leadership but has not yet heard back. This story will be updated when more information becomes available.
State sues ‘We Push for Peace’ nonprofit
Big picture view:
Attorney General Keith Ellison announced that a lawsuit was filed in Hennepin County against We Push for Peace and its former directors, Trahern Pollard and Jaclyn McGuigan, alleging they misused more than $6.5 million in nonprofit funds.
The lawsuit says Pollard personally benefited from 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.
The attorney general's office adds that Pollard and McGuigan tried to hide their actions from both state investigators and tax authorities. They allegedly lied to investigators, including claiming a child support payment was for nonprofit expenses and mislabeling a $35,000 payment to friends as "Chicago Payroll."
AG Ellison also said his office worked with new nonprofit leadership to try to keep We Push for Peace running, but said ongoing violations by Pollard and McGuigan forced them to take legal action.
According to the lawsuit, Pollard and McGuigan’s actions led to the downfall of We Push for Peace. Pollard reportedly created new for-profit businesses, including one called Change Makers, to take over the nonprofit’s contracts and workers for his own benefit. When the City of Minneapolis reached out during Operation Metro Surge, the nonprofit was unable to provide support because it no longer had the resources or capacity.
Investigators say they found the nonprofit had no active board of directors, failed to hold required meetings, and lacked basic policies and safeguards to protect its assets.
The lawsuit also claims the organization did not keep proper financial records and engaged in conflicts of interest and improper loans.
What they're saying:
Minnesota Attorney General Kieth Ellison shared 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."
Timeline:
The attorney general's office estimates the nonprofit had a total revenue of:
- $267,089 for 2020
- $3,214,582 for 2021
- $6,830,390 for 2022
- $6,419,701 for 2023
- $6,970,128 for 2024
- $1,944,332 for 2025
The complaint notes that much of the nonprofit money was used to pay child support and personal taxes.
There were also documented instances in 2022 where Pollard transferred assets to himself from the nonprofit's bank account. There was also a $1,000 ATM withdrawal in Las Vegas.
Investigators also found that money from We Push for Peace was funneled into Pollard's private businesses, which included his liquor store and car dealership.
In 2025, after Pollard and McGuigan were made aware of the state's investigation, Pollard diverted at least $56,040 from the nonprofit. According to the complaint, he did so by depositing store revenue checks made out to We Push for Peace" into a separate bank account that he controls.
After Pollard's access to nonprofit funds was revoked, he then opened a for-profit business corporation called Change Makers Service Corporation, but did not disclose in advance the creation of this entity to the attorney general.
The complaint states that Pollard opened separate bank accounts for Changer Makers and began depositing checks made out to We Push for Peace into the Change Makers accounts. At least $930,794 of those deposited checks were paid to the order of We Push for Peace, not Change Makers.
Dig deeper:
The full complaint can be read below:
The Source: This story uses information from an announcement shared by the Minnesota Attorney General's Office.