Brown is expected at City Council’s meeting Tuesday and her town hall on Wednesday.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte City Council member Tiawana Brown has consistently reiterated this week that she will not resign after a federal indictment on charges of COVID-19 relief fraud.
But if she is convicted, she might have to. A felony conviction, under the state constitution, would mean she is disqualified from office. Brown does have a prior fraud conviction from the 1990s, but it was expunged, which is why she is eligible now.
Brown made her first appearance in court Friday, telling reporters, “You don’t lose respect for allegations” while leaving the courthouse in Uptown. She, along with her two daughters also named, pleaded not guilty.
The indictment claims the group filed at least 15 fraudulent loan applications between April 2020 and September 2021, using fake tax forms and false documentation. Federal prosecutors say, while some of the loan applications were rejected, Brown used money from others that were approved for personal spending, including “purchases of Louis Vuitton merchandise.”
On Thursday, at a press conference right after the charges were announced, she claimed the investigation is politically motivated.
“It’s an effort to distract from the work I’ve done, the lives I’ve touched and the community I represent,” Brown said. “My commitment to justice, to equity and second chances remains unshaken. I trust the legal process and I remain focused on what matters the most to people.”
All seats on Charlotte City Council, including Brown’s, are up for re-election in November. The charges themselves do not disqualify her from running again, which she said she plans to.
Brown also said she will not take a plea deal.
“Not an option. This has nothing to do with my seat,” Brown said Friday.
This means she is expected at the Charlotte City Council meeting Tuesday. She is also expected to go through with her town hall scheduled for Wednesday.
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