CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Former Charlotte City Councilwoman Tiawana Brown has filed an appeal following her sentence of 10 months in federal prison for her role in a COVID-19 relief fraud conspiracy.
A notice of appeal was filed Thursday, September 24, two days after U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced Brown in federal court in Charlotte. The filing begins the appellate process but does not, by itself, overturn or suspend Brown’s conviction or sentence. The notice also does not explain the specific legal arguments Brown intends to raise on appeal.
Brown pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Her signed factual basis states that she knowingly joined a conspiracy with her daughters, Tijema Brown and Antionette Rouse, to defraud federal pandemic-relief programs.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina says the defendants submitted fraudulent applications for the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and Paycheck Protection Program between April 2020 and September 2021.
According to the government’s sentencing announcement, the defendants submitted at least 13 applications and fraudulently received at least $146,665 in pandemic-relief loans. Prosecutors said the applications included false information and fictitious documentation.
Federal prosecutors also said the money was used for personal rather than qualifying expenses, including approximately $15,000 spent on a birthday party for Brown.
Judge Bell sentenced Brown to 10 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release. Brown also agreed to forfeit $22,500 in fraud proceeds. Her daughters received non-prison sentences: Tijema Brown was sentenced to two years of probation, while Antionette Rouse received four months of home detention.
The defendants were ordered to pay $137,280.09 in restitution to the Small Business Administration. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Brown had already paid $20,833 toward restitution at the time of sentencing.
At sentencing, Bell addressed the purpose of the pandemic programs and said, “The public is tired of being ripped off.”
Brown’s appeal now shifts attention to the federal appellate process. A notice of appeal is the beginning of that process, not a determination that an error occurred in the trial court.
AUXIO.TV will update this story when Brown’s appellate filings identify the specific legal grounds on which she is challenging the sentence.