A Rhode Island woman who fraudulently claimed to have received the Purple Heart, served in the military and amassed over $250,000 in veteran benefits and charitable donations was sentenced to federal prison.
Sarah Jane Cavanaugh, 32, was sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison last Tuesday after being found guilty of carrying out what prosecutors said was a massive fraud after pretending to be a Purple Heart recipient and Bronze Star-decorated U.S Marine. Sarah Cavanaugh made people believe an IED in Iraq injured her and developed service-related cancer using it to knock into civilian hearts and collect charitable donations amounting to $250,000 despite never serving in the military, prosecutors said. In nreality, according to the DOJ, Cavanaugh was a social worker at a Department of Veterans Affairs medical centre, a role in which she was supposed to help and support military veterans, then used her position to “misappropriate veterans’ identities. Prosecutors even called her criminal activity “repugnant”.
“Her actions are an insult to every veteran who has served our country, and today she learned her fate for her criminal conduct,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. She pleaded guilty on 9 August 2022 to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, forged military discharge certificate, and fraudulent use of military medals.
SOURCE: JUSTICE.GOV | MARCH 24 2023