SBA files foreclosure on business tied to city councilwoman

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Small Business Administration filed on Wednesday to foreclose on a family business tied to Jacksonville City Councilwoman Katrina Brown, according to court documents.

The business, Jerome Brown BBQ restaurant on Commonwealth Avenue on the Westside, opened in August at the same location where the family originally planned to launch a barbecue sauce manufacturing business.

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The attorney who filed the court document told the I-TEAM that the filing is against Jerome Brown Products' two properties, which are tied to a $2.6 million mortgage -- the plant that was purchased for $950,000 and another property bought by Jerome Brown for $25,000 in May 2009. 

Earlier this month, the I-TEAM learned that the city of Jacksonville is suing the barbecue company tied to the councilwoman.

The city says COWEALTH LLC didn't create the jobs it said it would under a grant agreement it signed with the city. The city then sent letters demanding the company repay the $210,000 grant, which the company has not yet fully done.

The business is currently under investigation by the FBI, the IRS, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Office of the Inspector General and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.