US Embassy apologizes for flagging American’s repatriation efforts as scam

The U.S. Embassy in India has apologized to an American woman for flagging her efforts to help repatriate American citizens stranded abroad as a scam.

The apology comes after the U.S. Embassy and related consulates in India took down social media posts about South Carolina resident Brittany Garvin-Albury without explanation. The embassy had first suggested she was running a fake website to collect identifying information and money from desperate Americans. But the embassy’s move drew criticism, including from South Carolina state Sen. Sandy Senn (R).

In a letter dated April 7, Deputy Chief of Mission Edgard Kagan wrote to Garvin-Albury offering an apology on behalf of the U.S. mission in India for referencing her name and website in online messaging warning American travelers. 

“I would like to offer you an apology on behalf of Mission India for including references to you and your website in our online messaging seeking to caution Americans against those seeking to exploit them,” Kagan wrote.

“We promptly removed those references last week. In the circumstances, I hope you will understand and accept our apology.”

Despite taking down the scam accusations, Garvin-Albury said the posts had an immediate impact on her work, reputation and personal life. She received harassment online, her address was posted publicly and she was kicked off the board and from participating in her community’s children’s sports program.

“I’m grateful for the apology as I realize most executive branches don’t issue apologies like this,” she told The Hill. “I just wish they had also posted the apology in the same way my name was slandered through their websites and social media accounts.”

Garvin-Albury says she’s stepped back from her efforts to help repatriate Americans. She had helped organize a repatriation flight from Peru and was working to take her efforts to help Americans in India.

The State Department has so far repatriated more than 1,700 Americans on nine flights from India out of approximately 7,000 people asking for help.

“Once something is on the internet it’s never truly gone,” Garvin-Albury continued. “I have a feeling this will haunt me for the rest of my life. When I first became involved in helping others for the first time in my life I had found my calling, now I feel as if it’s been taken away from me.”

The U.S. Embassy’s reversal represents some of the challenges and missteps the State Department has faced in its efforts to repatriate Americans abroad amid the pandemic.

Tens of thousands of Americans were left stranded abroad as countries began closing their borders last month and on short notice, ending international air travel in an effort to stem the virus spread.

The State Department and U.S. embassies abroad were first criticized as being unresponsive and disorganized in the initial days of border closures, with stranded Americans mobilizing together online pleading for help. 

As of April 7, the State Department has since repatriated more than 46,000 Americans from 81 countries since the end of January.

But behind the scenes, private companies, nonprofit organizations and enterprising individuals like Garvin-Albury have helped locate stranded Americans, troubleshoot evacuation plans and complete repatriation flights, with some working in coordination or with the endorsement of the U.S government.

Garvin-Albury, who helped evacuate Bahamians after devastation from Hurricane Dorian in September, offered to help use her contacts to organize repatriation flights for Americans stuck in Peru.

She expanded her efforts with other volunteers and set up a website for Americans stuck in Australia, India, Spain and Morocco.

Garvin-Albury said she was told by a congressional office advocating to the State Department on her behalf that the U.S. Embassy flagged her website as a scam after they tried to access it and their system labeled it as a “spearphishing” attempt to steal user data.

An official for the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi told The Hill, “We regret having identified Brittany Garvin-Albury and her website in our warning to U.S. citizens in India to be cautious about scams. We have taken down all references to her company and her name from our website and social media posts, and we have apologized to her directly.”

The government of India has only authorized flights to the United States in conjunction with the U.S. government, the official continued, and urges U.S. citizens not to provide any personally identifiable information to entities not directly affiliated with the U.S. government.