EVANSVILLE, IN — Tanisha Carothers, a Fourth Ward City Council member, has been charged with fraud and defacing, falsifying, or destroying election documents. The charges stem from allegations that Carothers lied about her residency in order to qualify for her city council seat.
The charges came after Angela Bullock, a former candidate for Evansville City Council, filed a complaint against Carothers, leading to an investigation by the police. Carothers was arrested and booked into jail on Tuesday evening shortly after 5 p.m.
Police say that Carothers did not meet the required residency requirement to run for office as she lived outside the Fourth Ward. However, she falsely claimed to live within the city limits on her official paperwork. When questioned, Carothers explained that she had two leases at the same time and had forgotten one automatically renewed. According to Indiana law, a candidate must reside in the ward for at least six months before the election.
In addition to the election-related charges, Carothers is accused of submitting a falsified document to receive an employment benefit she was not entitled to.
Carothers was released from jail on a $50 cash bond. As of now, the chair of the Vanderburgh County Democrats has declined to comment on the situation.
The case has raised questions about the integrity of the city’s election processes, and further developments are expected as the investigation continues.
