Charlotte councilwoman, 2 daughters indicted for allegedly defrauding COVID-19 relief programs

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WTVD) -- A North Carolina councilwoman and her two daughters were indicted Thursday and accused of defrauding COVID-19 relief programs to obtain over $124,000.

According to the United States Attorney's Office, a member of Charlotte City Council Tiawana Brown, 53; Tijema Brown, 30; and Antionette Rouse, 33, are charged with wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud. All three allegedly conspired to execute a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration's Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to get COVID relief funds.

Brown was elected into office in 2023. These accusations stem from before she was elected.

Between April 2020 and September 2021, all three woman are accused of submitting loan applications with false information or fake documents, the United State Attorney's Office said, which includes fraudulent tax forms, to secure COVID relief funds for their businesses. It's also alleged that they submitted false statements to get their PPP loans forgiven. In total, they are said to have submitted at least 15 applications and fraudulently obtained $124,165 through this scheme.

Councilwoman Brown used $15,000 of those funds on a personal birthday party, according to the indictment.

Brown has already spent time in prison for fraud. She is the only person to have been elected to the Charlotte City Council with that background.

In a news conference on Thursday, ABC affiliate WSOC reported that Brown said this is an effort to stop her from getting reelected. Once she learned the feds were looking for her, she had already paid the money back.

"So, if it's about justice and I paid it back, why are we here? Why are we here? I paid it back on my own. No one had to tell me to do that," she said.

When asked about using the funds on a birthday party, Brown said: "I paid it back; the funds that I got were $20,833, and I paid it back."

If convicted, all three woman could face up to 20 years in prison for each offense charged in the indictment.