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Screenshot of WDIV-TV YouTube video (pictured: Jerry and Tamal Flores | pictures
of Joel and Tammy Brown were not available)
news


4 FOSTER PARENTS, INCLUDING FORMER STATE HHS CHILD ADVOCATE, ACCUSED OF ADOPTING
'DOZENS OF' KIDS TO AMASS $1M IN SUBSIDIES


Cortney Weil
December 28, 2023
support us

Two Michigan couples have been accused of exploiting the adoption and foster
care systems to funnel dozens of vulnerable children into their homes where they
could abuse them while still bankrolling state subsidies.

The case relates to Joel and Tammy Brown and Jerry and Tamal Flore, all
50-somethings who live down the street from one another in DeWitt, Michigan,
about 10 miles north of Lansing. Since 2007, the two couples have fostered
and/or adopted a total of nearly 30 children, many of whom were then severely
abused, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel claimed.

"The state believes that the Browns and Flores conspired together to adopt
dozens of children who were removed from previously abusive biological homes and
subjected them to prolonged, routine, and systemic mental and physical abuse
under the guise of discipline," Nessel said at a press conference earlier this
month.

Nessel indicated that the defendants were mainly motivated by "financial gain."
Through adoption subsidies offered by the state, the Browns and Flores together
amassed nearly $1 million, all tax-free, Nessel said.


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Nessel also noted that, until last year, Joel Brown had been working as a child
advocate in the Children’s Services Agency within the Michigan Department of
Health and Human Services. Sometime in 2022, he was placed on unpaid
administrative leave and subsequently fired.







The reason for his termination is unknown. However, Nessel argued that Joel
Brown used his insider understanding of the system to "circumvent detection of
the ongoing child abuse in his own home and that of the Flores."

Both the Browns and the Flores had previously been charged with child abuse in
Clinton County. The four were arrested in 2021 after accusations surfaced that,
among other things, they had beaten children with a boat oar, thrown them down
the stairs, locked them in closets, and denied them food. The accusations date
back to at least 2014.

At a preliminary hearing in 2022, Judge Michael Clarizio determined that the
prosecutor had not presented sufficient evidence to proceed further with the
case against the Browns. The charges against the Flores had been reduced and
then dismissed once Nessel's office took over the investigation.

On December 4, Nessel's office announced that the couples had been charged once
again. All four have been charged with felony first-degree child abuse, a crime
which carries a potential life sentence, as well as other offenses. In all, the
four were charged with 36 counts, most of which are felonies.

Some of the alleged victims are now adults, and the statute of limitations has
since expired on the alleged abuse of others, so the case addresses alleged
abuse against just eight children. Nessel argued that the case demonstrates the
need for a longer statute of limitations for child abuse, for stronger charges
against those who "coach" abuse victims to lie to investigators, and for better
regulation of homeschooling so that the state can keep a closer eye on possible
perpetrators.

Nessel claimed that all alleged victims have been removed from the Browns' and
Flores' care.

"In the area of child abuse, the harms caused to an individual's mental health
are often, unfortunately, overlooked," Nessel said. "Abusive behavior by any
parents — adoptive or biological — is unacceptable and will not and cannot be
tolerated."



However, not everyone believes the accusations against the Browns and Flores.
Shamber Brown, an adult who was adopted by the Flores as a child, readily
defended both couples in an interview with WILX. "It’s really been crazy hearing
the accusations just because, I mean, if I’m being totally frank, my mom is my
best friend," she said.

Brown claimed that the Flores and Browns are just close friends who participate
in all kinds of activities together, "from church to school to vacations." The
families are so close, she said, that she married one of the Browns' sons. She
insisted that her husband never endured any abuse and that he agrees that both
sets of parents have been "falsely accused."

David Carter, who is representing the Flores, called the latest charges a "witch
hunt." "They're taking a second bite of the apple and trying to resurrect a case
that never should've been brought," he said, referring to the previous charges
against his clients that were later dropped.

Mary Chartier, who is representing Joel Brown, expressed similar confidence that
her client would soon be exonerated. "We believe the same result will occur this
time around," she said. "We won in court once, and we’re confident that we’ll do
so again."

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Sr. Editor, News
Cortney Weil is a senior editor for Blaze News.
cortneyweil

Cortney Weil

Sr. Editor, News

Cortney Weil is a senior editor for Blaze News.
@cortneyweil →


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