Woman pleads guilty after posing as Marine with lung cancer and receiving $250,000 in donations
A Rhode Island woman agreed to plea guilty after she was charged with falsifying military service and fraudulently collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars, court documents show.
Sarah Jane Cavanaugh, 31, of Warwick, Rhode Island was charged in federal court in March 2022 following an investigation into her military service.
Cavanaugh claimed she was a wounded veteran and the recipient of a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. She used her falsified identity to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in veteran benefits and charitable contributions.
Authorities only caught up with the 31-year-old when one of the charities Cavanaugh contacted became suspicious of her appeal.
There is no record of her serving in the military.
Cavanaugh, a social worker, allegedly used her job to access files of cancer patients and Navy discharge records which she altered for her use. She also joined the VFW in North Kingston where she appeared in a Marine uniform complete with a Purple Heart and Bronze Star.
In addition, she claimed she suffered from lung cancer as a result of her time in Iraq and Afghanistan. She used her fake illness to collect $207,000 from the Wounded Warriors Project, $18,500 from Code of Support, $16,000 from a program that provides therapy to veterans, and $4,700 through a fundraising website.
She also obtained 460 hours of Emergency Paid Leave and 261 hours of federal leave donated by federal employees.
Lies
Cavanaugh’s ruse was foiled when HunterSeven, a nonprofit that helps veterans with cancer, contacted the Providence VA. The nonprofit initially issued her a $3,000 in January, but promptly canceled once they learned she lied about her service.
They learned about her lie after another Marine said she would have known about Cavanaugh and her illness because the two supposedly served at the same time.
“I was in pain for her. I listened to her, everything a nurse should do,” Executive Director Chelsey Simoni said. “She not only abused that, she took my compassion and lied. Meanwhile we could have put our services elsewhere. That’s what bothers me.”
In March, Cavanaugh was charged with using forged or counterfeited military discharge certificates, wire fraud, fraudulently holding herself out to be a medal recipient with intent to obtain money, property, or other tangible benefit, and aggravated identity theft.
On Tuesday she agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, forgery, and fraudulent use of medals. She also agreed to pay $82,000 in restitution. While she faces more than 20 years in prison, court documents state that prosecutors have agreed to a lower sentence.
It makes me sick that someone could not only pretend to be a sick veteran, but then also take money from others. What kind of person does such a thing?
