Covid fraud cases continue to increase
On the darkest day of the Covid-19 pandemic, economic relief arrived in the form of government programs, but some people took advantage of it.
Fox-13 News
The North Carolina big ju court filed charges Charlotte City Council members with federal charges after prosecutors allegedly used the Covid Relief Fund to host a $15,000 birthday party.
Tiawana Brown, 53, was indicted along with her daughter, Tigema Brown, 30, and 33, Antionet Rouse, 33, was charged with wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with a fraudulent application filed to incorrectly obtain the Covid Pandemic Relief Fund.
On Brown’s behalf, the charges were characterized as “a deliberate effort to sabotage her reelection and silence her voice” in a statement shared by Christie Puckett, a lobbyist for the NC Second Chance Alliance.
“I’m not here to be tested in the media,” Brown was quoted as saying in a statement. “But I have to deal with the U.S. District Court complaint against me. I spend the day in court and trust the process.”
Brown, serving city district 3, was not immediately able to reach the USA Today. As of May 23, it was not immediately clear whether Brown was planning to resign from her city post.
“Brown’s own statement shows no doubt that it was any activity before its involvement with the Charlotte City Council,” a Charlotte City spokesman told USA Today. “In addition, the city has not been contacted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the city of Charlotte, which has not been investigated in relation to her role as a councilor or her role.”
USA Today also contacted the mayor of Charlotte and Brown’s attorneys, but has not received a response.
Indicted: Tiawana Brown mistakenly acquired more than $124,000
According to the indictment, from April 2020 to September 2021, the defendants conspired to implement a scheme that fraudulently violated the Small Business Economic Injury and Disaster Loans (EIDL) program and its Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and acquired a Cooperative Relief Fund for Suspicious Businesses by submitting an application for a loan with false information or false documents.
The fake document contains “false tax forms, other misrepresentations,” and the charges allegedly claimed, and the defendant has filed a false statement to obtain forgiveness of the PPP loan.
In all, the three defendants have filed at least 15 applications for EIDL or PPP funds, according to the release, and reportedly “incorrectly acquired at least $124,165 in connection with the fraud scheme.”
The indictment also alleges that EIDL and PPP funds were deposited in a bank account managed by the defendants. The defendant is allegedly using personal expenses proceeds, including about $15,000, at Tiawana Brown’s personal birthday party.
Who is Tiawana Brown?
Brown won the general election and became Councillor Charlotte in November 2023. Her current term ends in December.
According to the city’s website, Brown grew up in Charlotte, graduated from Myers Park High School and lives in town with her daughter, Tigema Brown. Her other daughter, Rouse, lives in Atlanta.
Brown attended Johnson C. Smith University and was a former board member of the National Incarceration and previously imprisoned women and girls, in addition to being a speaker featured at Capitol Hill in 2017.
What did Tiawana Brown go to prison for before?
According to her Facebook bio, Brown is “a formerly imprisoned person who was previously elected to Charlotte City Council” and is a “fierce advocate of truth.”
Court records obtained by USA Today Show Brown were charged in July 1993 with fraud-related charges in the Western District of North Carolina.
She served in prison for four years in connection with crime, according to the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections.
Brown and her daughter were given a $25,000 bond on May 23, according to online federal court records.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter at USA Today. Contact her at nalund @usatoday.com and follow her at x @nataliealund.
