MILWAUKEE — Former Milwaukee Public School Board Member Aisha Carr has been charged with two felonies, misconduct and fraud, according to a criminal complaint.
The complaint claims Carr falsified records to make it appear as though she lived in the district she represented on the board. It claims she also falsified records to be paid for the position, which the complaint said she was not able to legally hold.
Carr took office to represent MPS Fourth District on April 26, 2021. She resigned suddenly on May 1, 2024.
Investigators said the complaint stems from information the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office received in fall 2023, which said Carr was living outside the district she represented.
Media reports as early as when Carr was elected to the board on April 6, 2021 said she was living outside the district. That was allowed by law, and Carr acknowledged this fact at the time. Carr had said she would move into the district if she won.
When she took office on April 26, 2021, media reported that Carr had produced an updated driver’s license for an address within the MPS Fourth District she served. The address on the license was listed as 2209 W. Brown Street; it was only on this day that she updated her address.
Data provided by utility providers shows that Carr continued to use the address, 2819 N. 2nd Street, which is located in the MPS Fifth District, outside of the district she was meant to serve. She used that address from Feb. 2018 to March 2023, according to the complaint.
Carr also used this address to vote in local elections, according to data from My Vote Wisconsin. The complaint says Carr voted at Clinton Rose Senior Center, 3045 N. Martin Luther King Drive, Milwaukee, WI 53212 — a location consistent with the 2819 N. 2nd Street address. She voted there on April 6, 2021 when she was a candidate for the Board and for elections on Feb. 15, 2022, Nov. 8, 2022 and April 4, 2023.
At that point, Carr had said she moved away from the address. If she had moved to the Brown Street address, she would have been required to vote in the 15th Aldermanic District at Francis Starms Discovery Learning Center, 2035 N. 25th St. Milwaukee.
Carr continued to receive about $18,900 for her MPS Board position, despite holding it unlawfully. The complaint shows that Carr submitted her Brown Street address to be paid.
Utility data from We Energies also shows that Carr was responsible for service at the 2819 N. 2nd Street address, which is outside District 4, until spring 2023. This is almost two years after she took office.
Cellphone data obtained under a signed search warrant was also inconsistent with Carr living at the Brown Street address. Data from April 2021 to March 2023 showed Carr spent a significant amount of time at the 2819 N. 2nd Street address. After March 2023, that shifted to a significant amount of time at a new address: 960 N. 34th St. Officials said this is consistent with the utility data.
In an interview with Carr on March 8, 2024, Carr said she had not lived at the 2819 N 2nd Street as of April 2021, but that she continued to pay rent and utilities.
She said she lived at the 2209 W. Brown Street address but paid no rent because her cousin owned the home. Carr said she used the 2819 N 2nd Street only to conduct MPS Zoom meetings and other research for her role. She also claimed to have used the address for campaign functions, despite listing the Brown Street address as her campaign address.
A day before conducting the interview, investigators talked to the owner of the Brown Street address. The owner stated that Carr had never lived or had a long-term stay at the property. Investigators also talked to the owner of the 2nd Street property, who said that Carr lived at the apartment until March 2023.