Former Charlotte Councillor Jailed in $146,665 COVID Relief Fraud Case

A former Charlotte city councillor has been sentenced to 10 months in prison after admitting to participating in a scheme that diverted more than 146,665 US dollars in COVID-19 relief loans to personal spending.

Tiawana Brown, 55, was also given two years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit 22,500 US dollars. Her daughters, Tijema Brown, 32, and Antionette Rouse, 34, were sentenced separately for their roles in the scheme. Tijema Brown received two years of probation, while Rouse was ordered to serve four months of home detention.

The three defendants must repay 137,280.09 US dollars to the US Small Business Administration (SBA), with Brown having paid 20,833 US dollars towards the restitution so far. Tijema Brown and Rouse each agreed to forfeit 51,666 US dollars in proceeds.

The case involved two of the US government's main pandemic lending programmes, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Between April 2020 and September 2021, the defendants used purported businesses to apply for assistance under the schemes.

At least 13 applications were submitted, according to court records. Prosecutors said the applications contained false information and fabricated documents, including an IRS Schedule C form.

The money was supposed to cover expenses that qualified under the relief programmes but was instead used for personal purposes. About 15,000 US dollars went towards a birthday party for Brown, court records show.

US District Judge Kenneth D. Bell pointed to the circumstances in which the pandemic assistance programmes had been established when imposing the sentences.

"These programs are set up at a time of great desperation for a lot of people," Bell said. "The public is tired of being ripped off."

The FBI's Charlotte office investigated the case. Assistant US Attorney Matthew Warren of the US Attorney's Office in Charlotte prosecuted the defendants.

Source: FSX Business News