brown earned a bachelor of business administration - accounting from the university of the district of columbia. brown worked as a university of the district of columbia police officer until 2005. brown then worked at various accounting firms. in 1988, brown was tried and acquitted by a jury on an attempted murder charge in chicago. brown was also accused of assault in essex county, new jersey, but a grand jury refused to indict brown. the "washington city paper" reported that dc court records show "gun charges against brown were dropped in 1991 in exchange for brown going to a diversion program, and a jury found brown guilty in 1995 for unlawful entry." the "city paper" also reported that a restraining order had been issued against brown in 2007. the press asked brown if he had a criminal record. brown replied that he had been arrested once for trespassing at howard university.