Former Charlotte Councilwoman Tiawana Brown sentenced to prison for COVID-19 relief fraud

CHARLOTTE — In an emotional 2 1/2-hour sentencing hearing, Judge Kenneth Bell ordered former Charlotte City Council member Tiawana Brown to return to prison for 10 months.

Judge Bell told Brown, who served four years in prison more than three decades ago, she should have never allowed her daughters to do this.

Tiawana Brown didn’t say anything as she left the federal courthouse. She will have to surrender her freedom in the coming weeks. The former Charlotte city councilmember who has dedicated her life to helping women who were previously incarcerated will soon be with the women she would otherwise help. 

Brown admitted to fraudulently submitting COVID-19 pandemic relief applications and using the proceeds in part for this lavish 50th birthday party. Judge Bell told her this was frivolous and selfish. He also said she needlessly divided the city by defiantly claiming this prosecution was politically motivated when she knew it wasn’t. 

In federal court, Judge Bell told Brown she should have never allowed her daughters to be in this position.

The attorney for her daughter, Tijema Brown, said Tijema accepted responsibility for being the driving force behind the fraud.

Judge Bell said that admission, plus the fact that she is a single mother to a two-year-old influenced his decision to give her a two-year probation sentence with four months of home confinement. He says it was a close call. Judge Bell says her other daughter, Antoinette Rouse, was the least culpable of the three. She got the same sentence. 

All three will have to pay back a combined total of $137,000. 

Four people spoke on Tiawana Brown’s behalf and the room was packed with dozens of supporters. One was Kenny Robinson, who says Tiawana Brown would much rather go to prison than see her daughters behind bars. 

“Knowing her personally, if there was going to be any active sentence, she would rather it be her than her two children and that was the mercy that was shown today,” he said.

 Brown will report to a correctional facility in the coming weeks. It remains to be seen which one. Before sentencing, Judge Bell criticized the prosecution for their plea agreement that allowed lesser sentencing guidelines to be considered. He accused them of manipulating the guidelines to keep probation on the table.

Case timeline

According to federal prosecutors, the fraud occurred in 2020 and 2021 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brown admitted to getting her hands on more than $40,000 in government funds.

Prosecutors say she used $15,000 of that on a lavish 50th birthday party for herself.

Brown was elected to City Council in 2023, becoming the first former felon to serve on the board.

She had served time decades earlier on fraud-related charges.

Then, she and her daughters were federally charged in May 2025.

Brown pleaded guilty to the charge in February.

Court documents show Brown filed an appeal of the sentence on Thursday.

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