The ex-wife of a deceased U.S. Army veteran has been sentenced to prison for fraudulently obtaining spousal benefits. Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, Tara M. Lyons, announced that Miranda Rachel Briggs, also known as "Miranda Rachel Fisher," pleaded guilty to wire fraud on January 15, 2025.
On June 2, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood sentenced Briggs to two months in prison and ordered her to pay more than $129,000 in restitution to the Veterans Administration. Following her imprisonment, she will serve three years of supervised release.
Briggs married G.B., a U.S. Army veteran, in November 2015 but filed for divorce less than a year later. After their divorce was finalized, G.B.'s request to remove Briggs as a recipient of his benefits was granted by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Despite certifying their divorce during a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing in January 2018 and G.B.'s death shortly thereafter, Briggs falsely claimed VA benefits as his surviving spouse within weeks of his passing. She continued this deception when applying for Civilian Health and Medical Program benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) in April 2018.
After initially being denied VA survivor benefits due to their divorce status, Briggs submitted additional paperwork falsely asserting they were married until G.B.'s death in 2018. This resulted in her receiving approximately $49,000 for medical care and about $80,000 from the VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Program.
In April 2021, Briggs furthered her fraudulent claims by petitioning Chatham County Probate Court to become the administrator of G.B.'s estate under false pretenses as his surviving spouse—a role granted in December that same year before lawyers uncovered her deceitful actions.
In March 2023, the probate court removed Briggs from this position after confirming she had been divorced at G.B.'s time of death and was thus not eligible to act as an administrator.
Acting U.S. Attorney Lyons stated: “Programs that financially benefit surviving family members of deceased veterans are designed to provide a safety net to those survivors.” Special Agent David Spilker emphasized accountability: “This sentence sends a clear message that individuals who steal VA benefits will be held accountable.”
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General with prosecution led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia G. Rhodes and Michael Z. Spitulnik.