David Crowley’s campaign for governor took $1,000 in August from a Milwaukee nonprofit operator whom the Evers administration later ordered to repay nearly $800,000 in federal COVID relief funds.
State campaign finance records show a $1,000 contribution from Cynthia Brown, President/CEO, to Crowley for Wisconsin on August 6, 2026, as reported in the campaign’s Fall Primary 72-hour report.
Brown, also known as CeCe, leads CRC Employment and Entrepreneurial Services, a nonprofit, and C. Renee Consulting & Management Group. CRC received $2.95 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding through the Diverse Business Assistance Grant program established by Gov. Tony Evers in 2021.
In her grant application, Brown stated her intention to “close the educational and technical assistance gap for 500 diverse businesses in the areas of administrative support, soft skills, networking, and financial literacy to both new and established business owners in underserved communities of Wisconsin.”
Here is what the records showed instead. Brown received the first $1 million in August 2022 and spent it all by December, according to Wisconsin Public Radio. Purchases included a bowling party costing more than $2,000 and $625 for four-foot-tall letters spelling B-O-S-S.
A review by WPR and Wisconsin Watch found that Brown paid herself $117,627, compensated her husband and sons, and charged cell phone bills and fast food to the grant. The state flagged a handwritten $215,000 receipt related to the Capitol Drive property where her companies are located.
Brown also reported nearly $7,000 in legal fees paid to state Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, an attorney for whom Brown previously worked as a district director. Taylor denied receiving the payment, and the Department of Administration later stated that Brown withdrew the claim.
The Department of Administration suspended Brown’s contract in April 2023, noting it was the only Diverse Business Assistance Grant to be suspended. On October 31, 2023, the department terminated the contract and gave Brown 45 days to repay the funds. The state determined that only $205,247 of the $1 million had adequate supporting documentation.
Brown’s attorney, Timothy Baldwin, stated at the time that they disputed the findings and would “exhaust all administrative remedies until this matter is reviewed by a court of law, if necessary.” Brown has not been charged with a crime.
The program was established and administered by the Evers administration, which also terminated Brown’s contract. Brown attended a March 2022 Evers event promoting the grants.
The money trouble is not new. Milwaukee County court records show state Department of Revenue tax warrants against her consulting LLC in 2020 for $3,620.43 and in 2022 for $8,282.68, as well as a 2023 warrant against Cynthia R. Brown for $18,748.85.
Crowley has spent the campaign attacking Tom Tiffany’s donors while cashing checks from out-of-state tech megadonors. Now his donor list includes a Milwaukee grantee whom the state determined could not account for most of a $1 million taxpayer grant.
Wisconsin taxpayers are still owed an answer on whether that money ever came back.
