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Tamica Brown, 43 years old and a resident of Pembroke Pines in Broward County, was arrested on April 7 accused of stealing over $120,000 in SNAP nutritional assistance benefits from approximately 200 people over eight months, in one of the largest EBT card fraud schemes recently recorded in South Florida.
the investigation began on July 20, 2025, when a victim reported the fraudulent use of their electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card at the Walmart located at 4700 S. Flamingo Road, in Cooper City.
From that complaint, the Cooper City District of the Broward County Sheriff's Office (BSO) began an eight-month investigation that led to the identification of nearly 200 victims and combined losses exceeding $120,000, although some local media reports mention figures as high as $300,000.
According to the authorities, Brown operated an organized fraud scheme in which she illegally obtained EBT card numbers, the associated PINs and account balances of SNAP program beneficiaries from multiple sources.
The stolen data was electronically transmitted to Brown via phones by at least two men who worked with her and who remain at large, according to the prosecutors.
Once in possession of the information, Brown used the numbers and PIN to make unauthorized purchases of high-demand items: energy drinks such as Red Bull, Celsius, and Monster, sports drinks like Gatorade, and sodas.
The products purchased with the stolen benefits were then resold to corner stores and convenience stores, which allowed him to convert government funds into cash.
Victims were discovering the fraud in the worst way possible: when they attempted to pay for their groceries at the supermarket and their card was declined because the funds had already been depleted, according to the official statement from the BSO.
This type of fraud disproportionately affects Hispanic communities and the most vulnerable segments of the population.
Among those affected are some of the most vulnerable residents of southern Florida: a single mother with three children who ran out of money to buy food, and Angela Liriano, a 95-year-old woman who lost access to her nutritional benefits.
Liriano reported that he discovered the fraud when his card was rejected at the supermarket, and that the process of recovering his benefits took him about a month, involving paperwork and multiple phone calls.
Nationwide, the federal government replaced $323 million in stolen SNAP benefits in recent years, highlighting the scale of the issue across the country.
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