Court records show that Che Brown, the brother of D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown and a key figure in the scandal surrounding Kwame Brown's 2008 election campaign, filed for bankruptcy in March.
The bankruptcy filing obtained by WAMU was submitted just weeks before the Office of Campaign Finance (OCF) released its audit slamming Kwame Brown's 2008 campaign committee for financial irregularities.
Che Brown heads a sales training firm called Partners In Learning. OCF alleges Kwame Brown's 2008 campaign funneled nearly $250,000 to the firm. OCF says funds were paid to another company for campaign work and then quickly transferred to Partners In Learning.
OCF says when auditors pressed Che Brown for receipts or itemized reports of how the money was spent, he was unable to provide documentation for the approximately $170,000 spent on “day labor."
The audit concludes that it "could not fairly represent the financial activity as indicated in the Profit and Loss statement provided" by Partners in Learning.
Kwame Brown has defended the work his brother did for the campaign.
And earlier in June, in a formal complaint, OCF also alleged that Che Brown was in charge of an unreported $60,000 "side account."
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According to a March 14 filing in a D.C. bankruptcy court, Che Brown has approximately $500,000 in liabilities.
Kwame Brown has also faced issues with personal finances. During his 2010 race for council chair, Kwame Brown acknowledged racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal debt.
Che Brown and Kwame Brown were unavailable for comment.
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