Tiawana Brown is on city council, she went from the ghetto, to jail, to getting $45,000 in COVID cash, to city council woman, now she might be going back to jail after guilty plea
On January 29, 2026 Charlotte City Council member Tiawana Brown, 54, signed a factual basis document that shows she pleads guilty to fraudulently obtaining some $45,000 in pandemic assistance cash to throw a $15,000 horseback style birthday party in center city Charlotte, NC. Tiawana is from ghetto housing projects and she is use to jail, some of her family even have been to prison. Follow Charlotte Alerts on Instagram.
During the Coronavirus pandemic Tiawana took out loans and grants from the United States government as EIDL and PPP loans, some of which were not required to be paid back. Tiawana is a Democratic Charlotte City Council member, she lost re-election in 2025. Tiawana oddly supports Sheriff Garry Mcfadden who is proven to have poor racist stupid leadership and mismanagement in the jail, Garry Mcfadden is a terrible sheriff and was heard on video calling his employees niggers and white employees crackers.
The loans Tiawana took out totaled $45,000. Tiawana made false statements on loan applications in order to get the funds. Her two daughters, Tijema Brown, 30, and Antionette Rouse, 33, also took out the same loans. All together the family of women obtained over $124,000 in COVID-19 money in Charlotte, NC.
Less than a month after getting the COVID-19 money Tiawana used some of the cash on herself by throwing a $15,000 birthday party in uptown Charlotte at the Harvey Gantt Center. At the party Tiawana had real horses and carriages carrying her in a princess royalty style display. Now she may be in a orange jail jumpsuit.
On May 22, 2025 a federal grand jury indicted Tiawana and her daughters charging them with wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy. Federal officials say Tiawana, Antionette, and Tijema secured Coronavirus funding via PPP and EIDL by filing false tax documents and other false documents.
Tiawana’s friend Cedric Dean, 53, had his home raided by the FBI in Charlotte, NC back in 2025 over allegations of medical fraud. Cedric made hundreds of thousands of dollars in less than 7 months.
After months of back and forth with federal prosecutors, Tiawana decided to plead guilty to conspiracy to wire fraud, she will likely get probation. She still has to formally plead guilty in court.
Tijema and Antionette had their cases continued, their criminal charges remain.
Tiawana was arrested in 2013 for fraud too. She served 4 years in prison. Tiawana was raised in the ghetto Southside Homes Housing Projects. Antionette lives in Atlanta and Tijema resides in Charlotte. Tiawana’s brother served 23 years in prison.
Tiawana owns a nonprofit business called Beauty After The Bars, it helps homeless women and formerly incarcerated women secure housing. She started Beauty After The Bars following her own prison term.
Upon that, she ran for Charlotte City Council and won. After getting indicted and a lot of bad press Tiawana ran for re-election to city council but lost to another black woman.
