Atlanta woman charged with defrauding FEMA in $156M contract for Hurricane Maria relief

WSBTV.com News Staff
·3 min read
291

An Atlanta woman is accused of defrauding the Federal Management Agency on a contract to help with Hurricane Maria relief.

Tiffany Brown, 43, received a $156 million contract to provide 30 million self-heating meals for Puerto Ricans in the wake of the devastating hurricane in 2017. Federal investigators claimed that she provided only 50,000 meals and none of them were self-heating as promised.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

A federal grand jury indicted Brown in September on 11 counts of major disaster fraud, 14 counts of wire fraud, one count of theft of government money, and three counts of money laundering.

“It is unconscionable that Brown would exploit the disaster that Hurricane Maria wrought on Puerto Rico,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said. “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.”

Hurricane Maria decimated Puerto Rico as a category 4 storm in 2017. After FEMA declared it a major disaster, the government agency started to look for vendors to provide over 40 million self-heating meals per week to the island.

FEMA said that Brown submitted a proposal that her company, Tribute Contracting LLC, could assist and provide 10 million meals per day with 210 trucks. Brown’s proposal also said the trucks were equipped with the staff and tools needed to make the deliveries, according to investigators.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office claims that Brown did not have any suppliers or logistics set up when FEMA awarded her the contract.

TRENDING STORIES:

Prosecutors said Brown followed up with FEMA a few weeks later and confirmed her company and suppliers could begin delivering 1 million self-heating meals starting Oct. 7.

Brown did receive 50,000 meals from a Georgia vendor, however, prosecutors said those meals were not self-heating.

“On October 11, 2017, Brown submitted to FEMA a voucher and supporting documentation (i.e., bills of lading) requesting a payment of $255,000 based on false representations that she had delivered 50,000 self-heating meals,” the office said.

Brown continued to tell FEMA officials on Oct. 19, 2017 that she would be able to supply the required meals. FEMA ended its contract that same day.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Brown spoke to several national media outlets about the contract’s termination as She said that she was a scapegoat for FEMA’s process with small business contacts.

“I resent the fact that this is turning into an attack, it’s an attack on FEMA using me as a vessel. Please don’t use me as a vessel. if you want to attack FEMA or address FEMA’s concerns please attack it from a more intelligent perspective instead of it being about me,” Brown told ABC News in 2018. Read the full ABC News report here.

IN OTHER NEWS