Sentencing set for former Charlotte councilwoman in COVID fraud case
Former Charlotte city councilwoman Tiawana Brown and her daughters will be sentenced in their federal pandemic relief fraud case later this month, court dockets show.
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After initially dispelling the May 2025 case as a political attack and “deliberate effort to interfere with her re-election,” Brown in February admitted to a wire fraud conspiracy charge in a plea deal with the U.S. government. Her daughters soon followed.
Brown previously represented District 3 as Charlotte’s first ever formerly incarcerated council member. She was in prison in the 1990s on federal fraud charges and gave birth to one of her daughters while serving time.
Court documents say Brown and her daughters, Antoinette Rouse and Tijema Brown, submitted false documents and employee records to get COVID-relief funds and then spent the money on Louis Vuitton items, a birthday throne and a horse-drawn carriage.
While the family will be sentenced Sept. 22 on just the conspiracy charges, each woman was originally indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina with actually fraudulently wiring the relief money. Federal prosecutors alleged some funds came through Tiawana Brown’s nonprofit, Beauty After the Bars, which has partnered with the Mecklenburg County Jail and Sheriff Garry McFadden to provide support to incarcerated women.
U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson’s office in a plea agreement said they would not to recommend prison time for Tiawana Brown. Sentencings, however, are ultimately up to U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell.
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In the nine months between denying and later admitting to fraud, Brown released a book detailing her life, including her path from giving birth in prison and becoming an elected leader in the country’s 14th largest city.
“As history has shown, [Tiawana] Brown is not someone you can keep down,” attorney Rob Heroy said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer. “She is ready to put this painful chapter behind her and keep moving forward.”
Tijema Brown’s attorney, Jimmy Quander, said: “My client and I will address the Court regarding the relevant facts and circumstances, and we are hopeful the Court will consider the full context of this matter at sentencing.”
Rouse’s attorney and Ferguson’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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