Former Charlotte councilwoman Tiawana Brown sentenced to prison for COVID-19 relief fraud, tell me about this news in (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/former-charlotte-councilwoman-tiawana-brown-sentenced-to-prison-for-covid-19-relief-fraud/ar-AA2cGZEt?ocid=BingNewsVerp)
25-09-2026
Former Charlotte City Council member Tiawana Brown was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for her role in a COVID-19 relief fraud scheme.
Key details of the report:
The Scheme: According to federal prosecutors, between April 2020 and September 2021, Brown and her two adult daughters submitted over a dozen fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds. They used fabricated payroll records, fake tax filings, and falsified employee headcounts to secure more than $146,000 in federal relief money.
Misuse of Funds: The funds were used for personal expenses rather than legitimate business operations. Federal authorities noted that approximately $15,000 of the funds went toward Brown’s lavish 50th birthday party, which included a rented throne and a horse-drawn carriage.
Sentencing and Restitution: U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell sentenced Brown to 10 months behind bars, rejecting defense requests for probation. Her two daughters each received probation alongside four months of home confinement. In addition, the defendants were ordered to pay $137,280 in restitution back to the Small Business Administration.
Background: Brown made history in 2023 as the first formerly incarcerated person elected to Charlotte City Council, having previously served federal prison time in the 1990s for an unrelated fraud conviction. She had pleaded guilty to wire fraud earlier in the proceedings.