Effingham County woman indicted on federal charges by U.S. District Court Grand Jury

Miranda Briggs of Rincon has been indicted by the U.S. District Court Grand Jury on federal charges for wire fraud and theft of government money, property or records.

According to a press release by the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Georgia, “The divorced spouse of a deceased U.S. Army veteran has been indicted on federal charges for fraudulently claiming the veteran’s benefits.”

Briggs and her ex-husband, who is referred to as G.B. in the press release, were married in 2015. Less than a year later, Briggs filed for divorce. A couple weeks after the divorce was finalized, her ex-husband's request to have Briggs removed as a recipient of his benefits was approved.

The press release goes on to say Briggs filed for bankruptcy in January 2018, confirming the divorce. “After G.B. died about two weeks later, Briggs filed for VA benefits, claiming to be G.B.’s surviving spouse. In April 2018 she also claimed to be G.B.’s spouse when applying for benefits from the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs, receiving approximately $49,000 for medical care, and she received approximately $80,000 in benefits from the VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Program by claiming to be an eligible survivor of a qualifying veteran.”

When the VA denied her claim initially, Briggs provided paperwork claiming she was married to her ex-husband until his death. The press release says, “Based on this claim, the VA granted her the benefits. She then filed a petition in Chatham County Superior Court, changing her name from Miranda Rachel Fisher to Miranda Rachel Briggs. In April 2021, Briggs was named administrator of G.B.’s estate after claiming in Chatham County Probate Court to be G.B.’s surviving spouse. In March 2023, the Chatham County Probate Court removed Briggs as administrator after finding she was divorced from G.B. at the time of his death and not eligible to act as an administrator of his estate.”

Charges on the conviction carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and monetary penalties. Briggs will appear in the Magistrate Court in Brunswick on July 26.

Latrice Williams is a general assignment reporter covering Bryan and Effingham County. She can be reached at lwilliams6@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Effingham County woman indicted on federal charges by U.S. District Court Grand Jury