Numerous families who rely on government assistance to purchase food were forced to leave stores empty-handed during the course of a year-long, organized fraud scheme, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.
Tamica Brown, 43, of Pembroke Pines, was arrested after an eight-month investigation and faces one count of criminal use of personal identification information of over 30 victims and one count of trafficking in 50 or more counterfeit credit cards, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Monday.
Brown and three co-defendants are accused of illegally obtaining information of legitimate and active accounts of recipients of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, which provides food benefits to low-income families, the affidavit said. Recipients of the program access the federal funds through electronic benefit transfer cards, known as EBT cards, that work like debit or credit cards.
Brown received information of stolen EBT card numbers and accounts in Florida and elsewhere from her co-defendants “by unknown means,” then used the actual accounts to buy items easy to resell to convenience and corner stores, largely purchasing energy drinks and other soft drinks, according to a probable cause affidavit. She also made online purchases on Amazon and from Walmart’s website that were shipped to an address she could access.
Tamica Brown, 43, of Pembroke Pines, was arrested on April 7, 2026. (Broward Sheriff’s Office/Courtesy)
In exchange for the stolen account information, Brown allegedly paid her co-defendants through online transfers, Bitcoin transactions and in person with cash, the affidavit said. One of the three co-defendants has not been identified, while the two others have not yet been arrested.
The account information transmitted to Brown between December 2024 and July 2025 reflected a total balance of more than $122,000, the Sheriff’s Office said, and investigators have identified 200 victims.
The Sheriff’s Office began investigating in July 2025 after one victim at a Walmart called Cooper City deputies to report fraudulent EBT card activity, the news release said.
Brown was identified as the suspect in that case and arrested, the affidavit said. After her arrest, a search of her cellphone found numerous text messages and other evidence that she was part of an organized and large-scale SNAP scheme and had hundreds of stolen card numbers and PINs saved in the phone’s notes application.
Many people whose accounts were fraudulently accessed only learned their benefits had been depleted when they went to purchase food for themselves or families, the affidavit said. One woman went to buy food for her family, but her card was declined for insufficient funds, and she had to leave the store without anything after the transaction failed repeatedly.
Other alleged victims were a 95-year-old woman and a single mother with three children who went without groceries, the news release said. BSO investigators have interviewed more than 30 people so far.
Brown was arrested by Pembroke Pines Police on a warrant on April 7. She was being held in the Paul Rein Detention Facility as of Monday. Attorney information was not available.