CHARLOTTE — Former Charlotte City Councilwoman Tiawana Brown pleaded guilty to a federal charge Monday for lying to receive COVID-19 relief loans during the pandemic.
Brown admitted to fraudulently obtaining more than $40,000 in government funds. Prosecutors also say she spent at least some of the money on personal expenses, including roughly $15,000 on a 50th birthday party for herself.
The fraud happened in 2020 and 2021, before Brown was elected to public office. She was the first former felon elected to Charlotte City Council. That was in 2023. She had served time in federal prison decades ago for fraud-related charges.
She entered her guilty plea in federal court Monday in Charlotte. As part of the plea agreement, Brown said she expects to receive probation, and assistant U.S. attorneys told Judge David Keesler they wouldn’t oppose that. According to federal court records, Brown has to submit documentation to the U.S. Probation Office in the next 21 days.
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