Local military community reacts to shocking allegations against nonprofit founder

RINCON, Ga. (WSAV) – A Rincon woman is accused of defrauding the federal government by taking benefits from the Department of Veteran Affairs that were not legally hers, and the local military community is in shock.

Miranda Briggs allegedly collected more than $130,000 in VA benefits as the spouse of a veteran who passed.

That’s because the indictment claims she was not married to the veteran at the time of his death.

WSAV spoke at length with Briggs about her husband’s death in 2020.

“I want people to know that they matter, that they’re not alone. When you isolate yourself, if you’re struggling with substance disorder, with suicidal thoughts, it’s normal if you’re going through something,” she said.

She founded Fight the War Within to help those in the military struggling with suicidal ideation. Her passion for helping veterans makes the federal charges she now faces difficult for many to understand.

“I was just completely floored when I first heard about it,” said Joe Higgins, chairman of the Veterans Council of Chatham County. “From an organization that’s done such good work – to hear something like this come out – just rocks the foundation of what you believe.”

Many who work with organizations to help veterans in the community say they have mixed feelings.

“It’s very conflicting because of the good work that organization has done,” Higgins said. “I know veterans personally that are out there right now that are here with us today because of the work of that organization. That organization got them to the resources that they needed at that point in their life to be able to make a good decision to stay with us.”

Briggs founded her organization several years ago after her former husband, a man identified as G.B. in the indictment, committed suicide.

That happened in 2018.

“My husband was an Army ranger veteran who struggled significantly with PTSD and substance abuse after getting out of the military. He had trouble transitioning to the civilian world,” Briggs said of her husband’s passing when News 3 spoke with her in 2020.

However, according to the indictment, the couple filed for divorce in Florida in 2016, and it was finalized in 2017.

They were married for less than a year.

“From everything that we knew, she was a gold star spouse, was out there trying to promote the good work of trying to help veterans struggling with PTSD, maybe thinking about suicide. When you hear that, you don’t have any reason to believe there’s anything else going on,” Higgins said.

After G.B. died in 2018, Briggs allegedly filed to receive benefits that surviving spouses of veterans are entitled to.

She was ultimately granted more than $130,000, according to the indictment.

That’s what’s landed her in trouble, with some now calling into question not only the legitimacy of her organization but similar foundations.

“Everybody knows perception is reality, and that’s unfortunate. Everybody knows all it takes is one bad apple. So, it does make things more difficult for the other organizations that are still out here doing good thing, that are still trying to help in the community,” Higgins said.

Briggs is accused of wire fraud and theft of government money, property or records and faces up to 20 years in prison and substantial financial penalties.

She’s scheduled for an initial appearance in Magistrate Court in Brunswick on July 26.