May 22. A federal grand jury in Charlotte has returned a criminal indictment charging Charlotte City Councilwoman Tiawana Brown, 53, and her daughters with wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with fraudulent applications filed to falsely obtain COVID pandemic relief funds.

Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, said Brown’s daughters, Tijema Brown, 30, and Antionette Rouse, 33, were also charged.

The defendants allegedly used the proceeds on personal expenses, including allegedly approximately $15,000 on a personal birthday party for Tiawana Brown.

According to allegations in the indictment, between April 2020 and September 2021, the defendants conspired to execute a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and its Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and obtain COVID pandemic relief funds for their purported businesses, through the submission of loan applications that contained false information or false documentation.

Tiawana Brown

It is alleged that the false documentation generally included fake and fraudulent tax forms, among other misrepresentations. It is further alleged that the defendants submitted false statements to obtain forgiveness of the PPP loans. In total, the defendants allegedly submitted at least 15 applications for EIDL or PPP funds and falsely obtained at least $124,165 in connection with their scheme to defraud.

The defendants are charged with wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud. If convicted, they face maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each offense charged in the indictment. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence imposed after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.