Council Member Tiawana Brown Indicted for Alleged COVID Relief Fraud
District 3 rep says she paid money back upon learning of investigation
Charlotte City Council member Tiawana Brown is characterizing a federal indictment announced against her as “a political attack and a deliberate effort to interfere with her re-election and silence her voice,” according to a release sent out by the Beauty After Bars founder shortly before the indictment was announced Thursday morning.
The indictment, announced by Russ Ferguson, US Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, alleges that, between April 2020 and September 2021, Tiawana Brown and her two daughters — 30-year-old Tijema Brown and 33-year-old Antionette Rouse — schemed to obtain more than $124,000 in COVID pandemic relief funds using false documentation, then submitted false statements to obtain forgiveness of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans using fake and fraudulent tax forms, among other misrepresentations.
Instead of using the pandemic relief funds to pay for qualifying expenses as purported in the loan applications, the indictment alleges that the defendants used the proceeds on personal expenses, including allegedly spending around $15,000 on Tiawana’s 50th birthday party in 2021.
All three defendants are charged with wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud. If convicted, they face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each offense charged in the indictment.
Born and raised in Charlotte, Brown launched Beauty After the Bars, which assists women transitioning from incarceration, after having served four years in federal prison on fraud charges.
In April 2023, she celebrated the grand opening of her organization’s first Sisterhood Alliance for Freedom and Equality (SAFE) Home in Mint Hill, housing up to 10 women at a time as they return to the Charlotte community following incarceration.
Listen: Nooze Hounds: Tiawana Brown, founder of Beauty After the Bars (2023)
Later that year, she was elected to Charlotte City Council, becoming the first formerly incarcerated person to earn that position. She plans to run for reelection to serve a second term in this fall’s local elections.
On Thursday, Brown emphasized that the indictment’s allegations are unrelated to her tenure as a public official.
“I want to be clear: these allegations concern actions that took place before I took office,” Brown stated. “I have always been transparent about my past and have worked tirelessly to serve my community with integrity and dedication.”
She clarified that she has no plans to resign from her seat as council rep in southwest Charlotte, nor does she appear ready to call off her reelection campaign.
“I am committed to continuing my work for the residents of District 3. I trust in the legal process and am confident that the truth will come to light,” said Brown.
“I am not here to be tried in the media … I will have my day in court, and I trust the process,” she added.
The unsealed indictment states some particulars about how they believe council member Brown and her daughters spent the money they acquired through PPP loans, including multiple purchases of Louis Vuitton merchandise.
It alleges that just one month after receiving $20,833 in PPP loan proceeds, Brown spent $15,000 on a birthday party for herself using the Beauty After the Bars bank account.
Party expenditures allegedly included $3,500 for a venue; $5,000 for catering; $2,300 for photography and video; a balloon arch; a rose wall; a rented throne; and a horse-drawn carriage.
Multiple posts on the Beauty After the Bars Instagram page show Brown celebrating her 50th birthday at the Harvey B. Gantt Center, including posts showing her stepping into and out of the carriage named in the indictment, in June 2021.
Though she refused to comment on the party during a press conference on Thursday morning that was streamed by WSOC, Brown insisted that her PPP applications were filled out by a third party and said she paid all the money back after becoming aware she was being investigated by the FBI.
“If I paid it back … then why are we here?” she asked.
Brown is expected in federal court to answer to the charges tomorrow.
