The ex-wife of a deceased U.S. Army veteran was sentenced Monday after fraudulently receiving spousal benefits.
Tara M. Lyons, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, announced that Miranda Rachel Briggs, a/k/a “Miranda Rachel Fisher,” 34, of Rincon, Georgia, pled guilty to Wire Fraud on January 15, 2025. On Monday, June 2, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood sentenced Briggs to two months imprisonment. Judge Wood also ordered Briggs to pay more than $129,000 in restitution to the Veterans Administration, and to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of her prison term.
The key events began in November 2015 when Briggs married G.B., a U.S. Army veteran, keeping her maiden name “Fisher.” Less than a year later, Briggs filed for divorce. Two weeks after the divorce was final, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs granted G.B.’s request to remove Briggs as a recipient of G.B.’s benefits.
Briggs filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in January 2018, certifying that she and G.B. were divorced. In January 2018, G.B. died and within weeks, Briggs filed for VA benefits, falsely 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 (CHAMPVA benefits).
After the VA’s initial decision to deny her claim to G.B.’s VA survivor benefits, Briggs submitted additional paperwork claiming she and G.B. were married until his death in 2018. 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, and in June 2018, the court granted the name change.
In April 2021, Briggs filed a petition to become the administrator of G.B.’s estate after claiming in Chatham County Probate Court to be G.B.’s surviving spouse. In December 2021, the Probate Court granted that petition. One week later, Briggs filed suit against the United States seeking more than seven million dollars in damages for G.B.’s death. During the pendency of this suit, lawyers for the United States discovered that Briggs’s fraudulently claimed to be G.B.’s spouse, and the lawsuit was dismissed.
In March 2023, the Chatham County Probate Court removed Briggs as administrator after finding that she was divorced from G.B. at the time of his death and not eligible to act as an administrator of his estate.
As a result of her falsely claiming to be the widow of G.B., Briggs received approximately $49,000 for medical care, and approximately $80,000 in benefits from the VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Program. The Court noted at the sentencing hearing, that Briggs spent thousands of dollars on cosmetic surgeries after she began receiving the CHAMPVA benefits.
“Programs that financially benefit surviving family members of deceased veterans are designed to provide a safety net to those survivors,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Lyons. “This sentence sends the appropriate message that those not entitled to these benefits will be called to answer for their crimes.”
“This sentence sends a clear message that individuals who steal VA benefits will be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge David Spilker with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General Southeast Field Office. “The VA OIG will continue to identify and eliminate fraud by seeking prosecution of those who swindle VA benefit programs that are intended to help veterans, their families, and caregivers. We thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their efforts in this investigation.”
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General and prosecuted for the United States of America by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia G. Rhodes and Michael Z. Spitulnik.
