Atlanta, Georgia – An Atlanta woman is headed to federal prison after being convicted of defrauding the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) during one of the most critical disaster relief efforts in recent history.
Tiffany Brown, 43, was sentenced this week to 12 years behind bars, followed by five years of supervised release. In addition to serving time, Brown must repay more than $1.7 million in restitution tied to her role in mishandling a massive hurricane relief contract.
The charges stem from a $156 million contract awarded to Brown’s company, Tribute Contracting LLC, in the wake of Hurricane Maria’s devastation of Puerto Rico in 2017. Under the agreement, Brown had promised to deliver 30 million self-heating meals to the island, which was grappling with widespread food shortages, power outages, and destroyed infrastructure.
However, investigators found that Brown delivered only 50,000 meals—and none of them had the self-heating capability that FEMA specifically required. The significant shortfall prompted federal prosecutors to launch a broader inquiry, culminating in a grand jury indictment in September. Brown faced a total of 29 charges, including major disaster fraud, wire fraud, theft of government money, and money laundering.
Following Hurricane Maria, FEMA declared Puerto Rico a major disaster area and immediately sought vendors capable of supplying at least 40 million self-heating meals per week to sustain the battered population. Brown’s bid painted a robust picture of her company’s capabilities, claiming Tribute Contracting could deliver 10 million meals per day using a fleet of 210 trucks fully staffed and equipped to handle the logistics.
But the promises quickly unraveled. According to investigators, Tribute Contracting had neither the operational capacity nor the infrastructure to meet the demands it advertised. Federal officials described Brown’s submission as deeply misleading, further complicating FEMA’s already overwhelmed response efforts.
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Despite her conviction, Brown has publicly defended her actions, arguing that she was unfairly targeted. In a 2018 interview with ABC News, she claimed FEMA was using her as a scapegoat for broader mismanagement within the agency’s small business contracting process.
“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.
Ultimately, federal prosecutors and the court disagreed, emphasizing that Brown’s actions during a national emergency caused harm not only to the agency but to the millions of Puerto Ricans desperately relying on promised aid.
Brown’s sentencing closes a high-profile chapter in FEMA’s Hurricane Maria response, highlighting the risks and repercussions when vendors fail to deliver during times of crisis.
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