Charlotte City Councilwoman and daughters indicted for COVID relief fraud
Tiawana Brown was elected in 2023, has a past incarceration record
Democratic Charlotte City Councilmember Tiawana Brown and her two daughters have been indicted on charges related to 15 false applications for COVID-19 relief funds totaling $124,000, according to a press release by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina.
Tiawana Brown (53), Tijema Brown (30) and Antionette Rouse (33) were indicted by a Grand Jury for wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud tied to fraudulent applications for COVID pandemic relief funds.
Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, and James C. Barnacle, Jr., Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina, made the announcement on May 22.
If convicted, the penalties for each of the charges carry a 20 year prison sentence and $250,000 fines. In other words, these women are looking at life in prison but there is a possibility of parole.
The indictment alleges that between April 2020 and September 2021, defendants defrauded three COVID relief programs by submitting false loan applications containing fraudulent tax forms and other fake documentation.
The programs included relief through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). All three women perjured themselves in claiming their applications were valid and correct.
According to the release and the court filing, $15,000 was spent on a birthday party for the councilwoman after she received $23,833 in PPP loan money the month prior.
Brown spent around $2,300 for professional photography/videography of the party, $3,500 renting the venue, and roughly $5,000 in catering charges, per court filings.
Brown apparently made a big deal out of her 2021 party, posting images and videos to social media of the party held at the Gantt Center in uptown Charlotte.
One post on Instagram featured Brown entering the venue in an evening gown with a horse-drawn carriage behind her, and another of her leaving her party and getting into the carriage.
Then there were the photos taken of her on her birthday "throne," like the ones below.
WBT’s Brett Jensen reports that “Brown and her two daughters were each given a $25,000 unsecured bond and each have to surrender their passport. All three plead, not guilty and all three requested a trial by jury. They refused comments.”
In a hearing late on Friday, Brown and her daughters pleaded not guilty.
More To The Story
Brown, who works as a flight attendant for American Airlines, was elected to Charlotte City Council just two years ago, representing District 3. She took the seat with almost 79% of the vote and was sworn in on Dec. 4, 2023.
Perhaps ironically, she serves on the Budget, Governance and Intergovernmental Relations committee. She's also on the council's Housing, Safety and Community committee.
Yesterday, she held a press conference and told reporters that she won't resign
"Why would I resign? I haven't been convicted of anything," said Brown when asked if she would leave the city council. "I was elected for the people by the people. The people would have to remove me out of the seat."
She also tried to pass off the fraudulent $20,833 PPP loan as a non-story because she "paid it back." To support that claim, Brown kept referencing the COVID money settlement case of Hillbilly’s Barbecue & Steaks wherein the owner paid back $1.5 millon.
"I will not be tried in the media. I will have my day in court where the truth belongs," Brown said. "But let me be clear. It's an effort to distract from the work I've done."
Here's the "Gee, ya don't say..." part of the story.
She was elected despite spending four years in prison on federal fraud charges, which she bragged about in her press conference.
"I made history, being the first formally incarcerated person to sit at the dais," said Brown. "Now people watching, some people are not happy with that. They're not happy the way I fight for people, the way that I call people out. The way that I make sure that people are held accountable."
Watch Brown's press conference here:
Some of the charges in the indictment are linked to "Beauty after the Bars" (BATB) the Charlotte-based nonprofit founded and run by Brown.
Per the nonprofit's website, the group "provides mentoring, advocacy, education, and supports racial equity, and economic mobility for the communities that disproportionately affected and our most marginalized communities."
BATB's Instagram account posts are a mix of the group's activism and Brown's swimsuit/fashion photos.
The group's official website has videos of Brown describing her four years in prison and how she gave birth to her youngest daughter while incarcerated.
Apparently Brown went to prison twice and the records show the charges, mainly "cheat - property/services (principal)," were classified as misdemeanors early on and felonies the second time around. There was also a felony conviction for using a fraudulent credit card.
In North Carolina, the jail code "cheat - property/services" also known as obtaining property by false pretenses, and is typically a Class C felony if the value of the obtained property or services is $100,000 or more, and a Class H felony if less than $100,000.
The bio profile of Brown on the BATB site also mentions the Mecklenburg Sheriff multiple times, including stating Brown "oversees the mentoring program, re-entry program in Partnership with Sheriff Garry L. McFadden /Mecklenburg County Detention Center- to ensure once the residents that are released from jail-they never experience recidivism."
Brown has an active Democratic voter registration on file with the state which shows she has voted in dozens of elections following her conviction and prison term.
It is unclear if Brown's record, which includes a felony conviction, was ever expunged or if she received a pardon from former Governor Roy Cooper, however, media outlets have reported her voting rights had been restored at some point.
The Governor's Clemency page hosted by NC Department of Public Safety displays a "404" message for some time now and no press release of a pardon for Brown or even a mention of Brown can be found on the governor's official website.
Brown does have a lengthy series of court records in the state's eCourts system. There are too many to list individually, but they span multiple counties. Items in the cases include charges for worthless checks, using a forged instrument, obtaining property under false pretenses, harassing phone calls, communicating threats, simple assault, and various cases brought against her by the NC State Employees Credit Union, Safeway, and other entities.
In Mecklenburg County, there were numerous cases linked together including speeding, expired tags, no license, no inspection, no insurance, fictitious or altered registration card/certificate of title/license plate, obtaining a driver's license by fraud, and NC ID card fraud.
There is also a set of 2017 cases brought by the NC Dept. of Revenue for taxes owed in the amount of $27, 042 and $6,531. The case files (below) show nothing has been paid as of May 23, 2025.