Accused Boston BLM charity fraudster Monica Cannon-Grant’s final personal lawyer has been briefly suspended from practising legislation within the state of Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Courtroom issued an order of instant short-term suspension in opposition to lawyer Christopher Malcolm, a decide introduced in a current submitting in Cannon-Grant’s case docket.
Malcolm’s suspension, which was ordered in November, is “pending further order from the SJC” and topic to “further proceedings before the Board of Bar Overseers,” U.S. District Courtroom Decide Indira Talwani’s announcement summarized.
The suspension, based on the SJC ruling, means Malcolm should withdraw as counsel or as fiduciary from each pending case or present shopper and “provide notice to counsel for all parties (or, in the absence of counsel, the parties) in pending matters that the lawyer has been temporarily suspended and, as a consequence, is disqualified from acting as a lawyer after the effective date of the temporary suspension.”
Malcolm’s suspension comes from 4 “serious ethical violations” in a separate federal case, based on the referral for disciplinary motion filed by U.S. District Courtroom Decide Leo T. Sorokin in that case’s docket.
Particularly, Sorokin mentioned within the 27-page October referral that he discovered it “reasonably plausible” that Malcolm dedicated violations of 4 Massachusetts Guidelines of Skilled Conduct for attorneys: “regarding conflicts of interest,” “breach of the duty of confidentiality,” “acceptance of the payment of client fees from a third party,” and “breach of the duty of candor to the tribunal.”
Within the case in query, U.S. v. Harry Tam et al., which entails alleged meth trafficking, Malcolm represented Tam however had beforehand represented two co-defendants when the case was on the state degree however had not disclosed that info within the federal case, based on the referral. When prosecutors raised the problem, hearings had been held and Malcolm was disqualified from the case.
The prolonged doc explains this was a severe matter as a result of the co-defendants within the case might be “materially adverse” and that anyone of them may “pursue a defense that attempted to cast blame on the other.
“Such a defense would then create material adversity between Attorney Malcolm’s current and former clients, giving rise to a conflict of interest,” Sorokin wrote.
Along with the battle, Sorokin discovered Malcolm withheld info or offered false info to the courtroom and prosecution and had a weird fee scheme during which one shopper paid for one more’s authorized charges.
Along with these complaints, which fashioned the idea for the referral, Sorokin individually famous “with concern Attorney Malcolm’s recent behavior across his cases in this district” which “suggests a broader failure to attend to his responsibilities.”
In a bulleted checklist, Sorokin famous a number of cases during which Malcolm “failed continually to meet deadlines,” from shopper payment letters, to responses to orders, to adjustments of tackle and even courtroom dates, which incorporates his absence in Cannon-Grant’s case on Dec. 15, 2023.
A observe within the Cannon-Grant case docket for that date states, “Mr. Malcolm failed to appear despite notice and attempts to call and email during court.”
Malcolm didn’t reply to a request for remark from the Herald.
Malcolm was the third of now 5 attorneys who’ve defended Cannon-Grant in opposition to the 27-count federal indictment alleging severe fraud within the administration of her nonprofit Violence in Boston.
“From 2017 to 2021, Cannon-Grant and [her late husband] Clark Grant, through VIB fundraising, solicited and received over a million dollars in donations and grants from individuals, charitable institutions, and other entities,” the indictment states, and throughout 52 pages alleges misuse of a lot of those funds, typically to complement themselves.
In all, Cannon-Grant is charged with three counts wire fraud conspiracy; one depend conspiracy; one depend mail fraud, aiding and abetting; 16 counts wire fraud, aiding and abetting; one depend making false statements to a mortgage lending enterprise, aiding and abetting; two counts submitting false tax returns; two counts failure to file tax returns; and allegations of each wire and mail fraud forfeiture and mortgage fraud forfeiture.
The defendants additionally allegedly “misrepresented their actual household income to obtain rent relief funds that were intended to aid Boston residents who were facing housing insecurity” by bilking the town’s Workplace of Housing Stability, based on the cost. They “concealed” cash so as to receive rental help.
This regardless of, because the indictment alleges, that Cannon-Grant was paying herself about $2,788 per week as CEO of VIB, netting $25,096 in 2020 and $170,092 in 2021 from the charity alone.
Cannon-Grant, arrested in March 2022, was first represented by personal lawyer Robert Goldstein, then by appointed lawyer Keith Halpern beginning in September 2022, after which went personal once more with Malcolm beginning in February of 2023.
Cannon-Grant filed a sealed letter with the courtroom on July 31 that’s summarized on the docket as her “identifying concerns and legal issues” and requested an lawyer appointment listening to for that August. “Taken together,” the observe states, “the Court treats these as a motion to appoint new counsel.”
She was subsequently appointed two new attorneys, George Vien and Emma Notis-McConarty.
The following courtroom date, a standing convention, is scheduled for Feb. 19. The newest scheduled trial date is Oct. 14.
Boston Herald file picture
Supreme Judicial Courtroom in Boston. (Nicolaus Czarnecki/Boston Herald)
