The Widow Who Wasn’t

Divorced before he died, she claimed to be his widow, took survivor benefits and CHAMPVA, spent thousands on cosmetic surgery — then sued the United States for $7 million. The lawsuit is how they caught her.

Briggs married Army veteran G.B. in November 2015 and divorced him less than a year later — she even certified the divorce in a 2018 bankruptcy filing. When he died in January 2018, she claimed surviving-spouse status anyway, legally changed her name to Briggs, and got herself appointed administrator of his estate.

She took about $80,000 in Dependency and Indemnity Compensation and about $49,000 in CHAMPVA medical care, spending thousands of the CHAMPVA money on cosmetic surgeries.

She then sued the United States for more than $7 million over his death — the lawsuit that led government lawyers to uncover the fraud. A probate court removed her as administrator in March 2023. She pleaded guilty to wire fraud in January 2025.

"Briggs spent thousands of dollars on cosmetic surgeries after she began receiving the CHAMPVA benefits"
— U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Georgia

Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Georgia. Case file in the VA Fraud case files — part of the VA Fraud record. Cases are published as the courts decided them; amounts are stated as the Justice Department states them (billed, stolen, or ordered in restitution, as labeled).