ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - A Fulton County superior court judge has issued an arrest warrant for Carolyn Freeman, the self-described Atlanta Falcons superfan, who failed to show up Monday morning for her court hearing.
Freeman’s public defender stated said his client informed him Sunday night she couldn’t attend, but he was still waiting to find out why.
Atlanta News First Investigates reached out to Freeman via phone, but did not hear back.
Freeman, also known as the “Birdlady,” is charged with one count of theft-by-deception for allegedly taking more than $14,000 from Kansas City Chiefs fan club members after promising “to cater and provide a tailgate party event, which said accused did not intend to perform,” according to the Fulton County District Attorney’s indictment.
Atlanta News First Investigates first reported on Freeman in October 2024 after several NFL fan groups accused her of sham tailgates and Super Bowl trips. The alleged incidents also involved a Seattle Seahawks fan club.
Freeman had appeared in court back in April and pleaded not guilty to allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from the Chiefs fan club.
Claiming sham tailgates, NFL fans want Atlanta Falcons to ban the ‘BirdLady’
Freeman’s Oct. 30, 2024, arrest warrant said she obtained $14,000 from about 300 fans to orchestrate a party for the Chiefs-Atlanta Falcons game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sept. 22, but did not show up for the event and did not return the money.
Atlanta police arrested Freeman at the Dallas Cowboys-Atlanta Falcons game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Nov. 3, 2024.
The fan groups also claimed Freeman said part of the money collected for tailgates would go to her nonprofit, Birdlady Cares Inc., which has been registered as a 501(c)(3) with the Internal Revenue Service for almost a decade. Guidestar, a philanthropic research website, details the nonprofit’s mission as serving children affected by abuse, domestic violence and bullying.
Freeman, who was named a2016 Bud Light NFL Super Fan, was featured on an Equifax billboard insideMercedes-Benz Stadium last season. The credit bureau company removed her image after Atlanta News First Investigates inquired about recent allegations that she had taken money from the Chiefs fan club.
Freeman bonded out on Nov. 8, 2024, in the amount of $2,500, and did not have to attend a preliminary hearing on Nov. 27.
A spokesperson for AMB Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Atlanta Falcons and Mercedes-Benz Stadium, has declined comment on the claims or the arrest.
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