Atlanta woman charged with defrauding millions in hurricane relief funds
Kids bike in an area without grid power or running water about two weeks after Hurricane Maria swept through the island on October 5, 2017 in San Isidro, Puerto Rico. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
ATLANTA - An Atlanta woman is facing dozens of charges of defrauding the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, out of more than millions in Hurricane Maria relief funds.
Officials with the Department of Justice have charged 43-year-old Tiffany Brown with 11 counts of major disaster fraud, 14 counts of wire fraud, one count of theft of government money, and three counts of money laundering.
According to the indictment, in 2017 Brown and her Georgia-based company Tribute Contracting LLC, submitted a proposal to FEMA saying that the company could provide 10 million self-heating meals to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria left thousands without electricity and heat.
In her proposal, officials say Brown alleged she had parternered with a major logistics agency to meet delivery requirements and had the "vehicles, staff, and know-how to meet delivery needs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."
Shortly after submitting the proposal, officials say Brown allegedly falsely confirmed that she and her core suppliers had "30 million self-heating meals in 30 days" - a million of which could be delivered beginning on Oct. 7, 2017. However, officials say in reality Brown had not secured any self-heating meal suppliers or arranged with any shippers to deliver the meals.
FEMA eventually awarded Brown's company a contract worth nearly $156 million to deliver the meals. While she did not have any supplier for the meals, officials say she provided FEMA vouchers and documentation saying she had delivered 50,000 of them. While she did have 50,000 meals, they were not self-heating, which was required in the contract.
After a few weeks of claims, FEMA eventually terminated their contract with Brown on Oct. 19, 2017. Even then, authorities say she made false statements to try to get additional payments.
"It is unconscionable that Brown would exploit the disaster that Hurricane Maria wrought on Puerto Rico," said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. "The residents of Puerto Rico—fellow Americans—were depending on and expecting the very best from its federal government, and from one another, during this unprecedented disaster. Our office will not hesitate to prosecute those who attempt to defraud the government during times of great need."
Brown was indicted by a federal grand jury for the charges in September.