May 23, 2025
Tiawana Brown was arrested, along with her daughters, Tijema Brown and Antionette Rouse and are facing a maximum sentence of 40 years if convicted of wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud
Charges have been filed against three women, including Charlotte City Councilmember Tiawana Brown, who were accused of falsely obtaining COVID-19 relief funds and using some of the money to throw a lavish birthday party for one of the alleged perpetrators.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of North Carolina announced that a federal grand jury in Charlotte has indicted Brown, 53, and her daughters, Tijema Brown, 30, and Antionette Rouse, 33, who all reside in Charlotte. They were each charged with wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud for submitting fraudulent applications while filing for COVID-19 relief funds.
United States District Attorney Russ Ferguson made the announcement.
The three women are accused of defrauding the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) offered to businesses suffering from the effects of closing down during the pandemic. They allegedly committed the acts between April 2020 and September 2021 when they applied for the COVID pandemic relief funds for their businesses. They submitted loan applications that had false information and/or false documentation.
The women allegedly submitted at least 15 applications for EIDL or PPP funds and received at least $124,165 based on what was supplied on the applications. Instead of using the funds for business purposes, they are accused of depositing the money into bank accounts that were controlled by the defendants. The three women allegedly used the money received on personal expenses, including allegedly spending about $15,000 on a birthday party for Tiawana.
#NEW: just got our hands on the indictment
In it, the feds say Brown paid $15,000 on a birthday party for herself using the Beauty After The Bars (her non-profit) bank account, which contained the PPP loan funds.
It included a horse-drawn carriage and more. @JoeBrunoWSOC9 pic.twitter.com/CF53yL85As
— Hunter Sáenz (@Hunt_Saenz) May 22, 2025
If convicted, they are facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each charge.
According to WSOC, Tiawana is a Charlotte City Councilmember who represents District 3 and has been serving on the council since being elected in 2023. She was the first formerly incarcerated person to be elected to the Charlotte City Council. She previously served four years in prison on federal fraud charges.
All three women were released on $25,000 unsecured bonds.
Tiawana released a statement about the alleged crimes:
“I want to be clear: these allegations concern actions that took place before I took office,” Brown said. “I have always been transparent about my past and have worked tirelessly to serve my community with integrity and dedication.”
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