Pembroke Pines woman accused in massive food aid fraud scheme
Broward sheriff’s detectives arrested a Pembroke Pines woman last week on charges she stole hundreds of government food assistance card numbers and used them to buy high-demand items she resold to stores for cash.
BSO Cooper City detectives say 43-year-old Tamica Brown’s victims only knew their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program information was stolen when they tried buying food for themselves and their families, only to discover their funds were depleted.
Pembroke Pines police officers picked Brown up at her home in the 8800 block of Northwest 10th Street last Tuesday. BSO announced the arrest Monday, saying it was the result of an eight-month investigation that began when deputies arrested Brown in July trying to use stolen Electronic Benefit Transfer card numbers to buy items at a Cooper City Walmart on Flamingo Road.
She told detectives she had permission to use the numbers. But detectives interviewed one of the victims who said she never met Brown, let alone gave her the EBT information.
SNAP recipients use EBT cards similar to credit cards to buy approved food and beverages. The program is run through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Detective obtained a search warrant for Brown’s iPhone in August, and a forensic audit of the device revealed she “was actively involved in ongoing fraudulent activity and was working in concert with other individuals to commit these crimes,” detectives wrote in their probable cause affidavit.
“Numerous text messages, digital evidence, and communications indicated that Brown was participating in organized large-scale EBT/SNAP food stamp and payment card fraud,” the report states.
Detectives said they still don’t know how the numbers were illegally obtained, but the people who stole them sent them electronically to Brown’s cellphone.
From December 2024 to July 2025, she used the numbers to buy popular items including energy and sports drinks and sold them to corner and convenience stores, according to the affidavit. Some of the businesses buying the items would even send her orders, detectives said.
“This allowed her to convert stolen government benefits into cash for financial gain,” Clauddine Caro, a BSO spokeswoman said in a statement.
She not only made purchases in person, but also online from retailers like Amazon, according to the affidavit.
Detectives said they identified about 200 victims and calculated a loss of more than $122,600 to the federally-funded SNAP program.
BSO investigators said they identified approximately 200 victims and a combined loss of more than $120,000. Investigators have been able to track down and interview more than 30 victims so far.
Two men are named in the report, but the Miami Herald is not naming them yet because a search of court and jail records shows they have not been arrested or charged as of Monday.
Detectives say that Brown paid the people who provided her with the stolen numbers through cash apps, Bitcoin and cash in person. Among Brown’s hundreds of victims include a single mother with three children and a 95-year-old woman, Caro said.
“The victims learned their benefits had already been depleted, forcing them to leave the store without being able to purchase the food and items they needed,” Caro said.
On Monday, Brown was in BSO’s main jail in Fort Lauderdale on a total bond of $300,000 on charges of criminal use of person identification information involving more than 30 victims and trafficking in counterfeit credit cards. Information on her legal counsel was not available.
