CHARLOTTE — A Charlotte councilwoman is under scrutiny after being accused of using COVID funds to pay for her massive birthday party.
Tiawana Brown has already spent time in prison for fraud and is the only person to have been elected to the Charlotte City Council with that background.
She was scheduled to face a federal judge on Friday.
However, this recent accusation stems from before she was elected to office.
Thursday morning, Brown went on the offensive.
“Today I sit before you as a public servant, a mother, and a woman of faith,” said Brown. “Not broken, not silenced, but resolved.”
However, a federal grand jury indicted Brown and her daughters for allegedly defrauding the federal government out of COVID relief funds before she was elected to the council.
At a news conference, Brown said the feds came after her to prevent her from being re-elected. She also said 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,” said Brown.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office, Brown spent $15,000 of the $120,000 funds on a birthday party. When asked about that allegation, she chose not to discuss it.
“‘Did you originally use the funds that were provided for you for that birthday party?’ I paid it back; the funds that I got were $20,833, and I paid it back,” Brown said.
Brown is the second city councilperson to be accused of corruption. In 2014, former Mayor Patrick Cannon became the first.
Channel 9’s Glenn Counts with UNC Political Science Professor Dr. Eric Herberlig about the incident. He said the city may be getting a reputation.
“In an era where everybody hates everybody that blaming somebody that your supporters hate can be enough,” said Herberlig. “Citizens generally don’t trust the government a whole lot. They don’t trust politicians a whole lot, so it doesn’t take many incidents like this to weigh on their trust.”
And while the United States Attorney’s Office said Brown could get up to 20 years if she is convicted.
Herberlig, however, said sentencing guidelines would call for her to get between eight and fourteen months, with her previous case not being a factor because it happened so long ago.
VIDEO: City councilmember, daughters indicted for scheme to obtain $124K in COVID relief funds
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