Charlotte politico indicted for Covid $$$ fraud. (Tip of the iceberg in NC?)

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The US attorney for NC’s Western district has bagged a nice-sized target:

A federal grand jury in Charlotte has returned a criminal indictment charging Tiawana Brown, 53, and her daughters, Tijema Brown, 30, and Antionette Rouse, 33, all of Charlotte, with wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with fraudulent applications filed to falsely obtain COVID pandemic relief funds, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. 

James C. Barnacle, Jr., Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina, joins U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making today’s announcement.

According to allegations in the indictment, between April 2020 and September 2021, the defendants conspired to execute a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and its Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and obtain COVID pandemic relief funds for their purported businesses, through the submission of loan applications that contained false information or false documentation. It is alleged that the false documentation generally included fake and fraudulent tax forms, among other misrepresentations. It is further alleged that the defendants submitted false statements to obtain forgiveness of the PPP loans. In total, the defendants allegedly submitted at least 15 applications for EIDL or PPP funds and falsely obtained at least $124,165 in connection with their scheme to defraud.

The indictment also alleges that the EIDL and PPP funds were deposited into bank accounts controlled by the defendants. Instead of using the pandemic relief funds to pay for qualifying expenses as purported in the loan applications, the defendants allegedly used the proceeds on personal expenses, including allegedly approximately $15,000 on a personal birthday party for Tiawana Brown. […] 

There are at least two more very interesting Covid $$$-related situations out there that we’ve been watching.   Balanced Nutrition – a nonprofit run by North Carolina’s former Second Lady Yolanda Hill Robinson – was awarded two PPP loans worth roughly $56,000.  Balanced Nutrition did not appear to meet the minimum requirements for obtaining the federal cash.  But they were awarded two payments — both of which were forgiven. 

Supreme Court justice Allison Riggs used to head something called The Southern Coalition for Social Justice.  The group applied for and won roughly $250,000 in COVID relief cash while Riggs was working for them in a senior managerial role. Whether this group qualified for the paycheck protection cash from the feds was also questionable.

We’re certainly not suggesting that – in these additional two cases — someone did something criminal.  But they are certainly worth examination by someone with some authority.