Former New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart registered her taxpayer-funded credit card as the payment method on her personal Amazon, Costco and Instacart accounts, using it to charge $19,222.97 in Costco purchases alone over nine years, according to the Crumbie Law Group report.
New Britain had its own Costco membership. Stewart used her personal account instead, meaning taxpayers also picked up Instacart delivery surcharges and tips, the report said.
Because purchases ran through Stewart’s personal accounts, the city lost its tax-exempt status on those transactions, leaving taxpayers on the hook for more than $15,000 in sales tax they should never have owed, according to the report.
New Britain’s city credit card program launched in 2016 with one clear rule: no personal purchases. Over the next nine years, Republican former Mayor Erin Stewart used her taxpayer-funded card to run up $19,222.97 in Costco purchases alone, according to the Crumbie Law Group report.
Her Account. Their Bill.
Stewart’s personal Costco account was linked to her taxpayer-funded card, the report said, even though New Britain maintained its own city Costco membership. She also used her personal Amazon account rather than a city account, the report said. Amazon records showed purchases were routinely delivered to Stewart’s home, not to city offices, the report found. Stewart also frequently ordered through Instacart, meaning taxpayers picked up delivery surcharges and tips on top of the purchase price, according to the report.
Between 2021 and 2025, her average monthly Costco bill ran $260.76, all charged to taxpayers, the report found.
Sales Tax
Because purchases ran through Stewart’s personal accounts, the city lost its tax-exempt status on those transactions, leaving taxpayers on the hook for sales tax they should never have owed. The report put the figure at more than $15,000, describing it as a conservative estimate.
A Tip, Courtesy of Taxpayers
On at least one occasion, Stewart charged a $15.44 Instacart delivery tip to taxpayers, according to the report.
The grocery charges were part of more than $207,000 Stewart ran up on her taxpayer-funded card over nine years, nearly 60% of it with no supporting documentation, according to the report. Investigators found evidence of roughly $2,000 in reimbursements across the entire period, which the report called an “insignificant fraction” of her total charges. The reimbursements, however small, undercut any claim that Stewart did not know she owed the money back, investigators said.
By Kevin Coughlin
