Former Councilwoman Tiawana Brown will admit trying to steal over $40k, record says
After defiantly saying that federal investigators only targeted her for political reasons, former Charlotte City Councilwoman Tiawana Brown plans to admit that she tried to steal over $40,000 from the government, according to court records.
Brown has agreed to plead guilty and pay restitution in her pandemic relief fraud case, federal court documents show, and prosecutors will not oppose a probation sentence without jail time.
Brown, who previously represented west Charlotte’s District 3 and was not reelected last year, was indicted on wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy with her two daughters in May.
The government accused them of using fake, never-filed IRS forms and lying on loan applications for pandemic relief funds. Brown then misused those funds, federal prosecutors say, when she wired them to her nonprofit, Beauty After the Bars, and used the money to throw herself a $15,000 birthday party with a throne and horse-drawn carriage. Prosecutors said Brown and one of her daughters used the money to buy Louis Vuitton items, too.
Brown originally called the charges a political attack and “a deliberate effort to interfere” with her re-election; she lost to Joi Mayo in the Democratic primary in September. In a plea agreement filed late Thursday, Brown agreed to plead guilty to a count of conspiracy, and federal prosecutors have agreed to dismiss her wire fraud charge.
Brown’s daughters — Tijema Brown and Antionette Rouse, who are in their 30s — have not entered plea agreements in their cases, according to court records. They face the same charges of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy, which each carry a maximum of 20 years in prison.
A judge has not yet accepted Brown’s plea in court, but Brown has signed a plea agreement filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Warren agreed he will not recommend prison time, but a judge could still opt to sentence Brown to up to 20 years.
Brown provided the following statement to Observer news partner WSOC-TV: “I wanted to get this behind me and it’s an agreement where the US prosecution has agreed to probation.”
Earlier this month, she released a book that opens with FBI agents knocking on her door with arrest warrants in this case. The book recounts her life and is a story of perseverance, she told The Charlotte Observer.
Brown served four years in federal prison in her 20s on felony fraud charges and gave birth to one of her daughters while incarcerated.
This story was originally published January 29, 2026 at 5:58 PM.
