Array
A Rhode Island woman who falsely claimed to be a Marine Corps. veteran suffering from cancer — and who used her fraud to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in charitable donations and help — was sentenced to nearly six years in prison on Tuesday.
Sarah Cavanaugh, 32, pleaded guilty in August to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, forgery, and fraudulent use of medals.
In Providence, Chief U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. sentenced Cavanaugh to five years and 10 months in prison — the sentence requested by federal prosecutors. McConnell also ordered she pay restitution totaling $284,796.82 to all of her victims.
Cavanaugh forged records she accessed through her job as a social worker at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center to build up the fabrications that she was a decorated veteran who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, reports.
Her lies propelled her into serving as the commander of a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in North Kingstown and got her more than $250,000 in charity support, from yoga classes and retreats to an in-home caretaker, according to the newspaper.
She also took in over $5,000 from an actual military veteran with cancer.
“She preyed on people’s compassion, their sympathy, and their goodheartedness,” federal prosecutor Ronald Gendron said.
Rhode Island U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha called Cavanaugh’s conduct “nothing short of appalling.”How the fraud unfolded
According to the Globe, the lies began soon after Cavanaugh began working at the VA in 2015.
She claimed she was a veteran who was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star, complete with a V device, which denotes heroism. Cavanaugh also said she had a traumatic brain injury due to an attack from an improvised explosive device and said she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
