PROVIDENCE – An East Greenwich woman admitted to fraudulently claiming to be a U.S. Marine Corps veteran with lung cancer who falsely accepted more than $250,000 in benefits and contributions, U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha announced Tuesday.
Sarah Jane Cavanaugh, 31, pleaded guilty on July 1 to fraud, aggravated identity theft, forgery and fraudulent use of medals charges, Cunha said. Cavanaugh claimed to be a Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient despite no record of Cavanaugh ever serving in the military.
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Cunha said she also admitted to creating fraudulent documents from the medical record information of a Marine veteran and a cancer-stricken Navy veteran she obtained while working at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Providence. She then allegedly created a scheme that helped her obtain more than $250,000 in cash, charitable donations and other services reserved for injured veterans, Cunha said.
“Every day, thousands of American men and women honorably serve this country in uniform,” Cunha said. “They sacrifice for our safety, putting themselves in harm’s way, often without praise or public recognition, and they deserve our thanks and our respect. This defendant sought to trade on that respect – respect she did not earn, evoked by a uniform to which she had no claim – by pretending that she was a United States Marine battling stage IV cancer in order to trick generous members of the public into lining her pockets. Her conduct is disgraceful, and it richly warrants her conviction today as a federal felon.”
Under the terms of a plea agreement, Cavanaugh has agreed that the final amount of restitution owed to her victims will be determined by the court at the time of sentencing on Nov. 10. She faces a mandatory minimum sentence of two years imprisonment and agreed that $82,489.73, which represents her proceeds from her recent sale of real estate, will be applied towards her restitution obligations.
Two months after Cavanaugh’s arrest, the General Assembly passed legislation allowing the prosecution of those who falsely represent themselves as a member of the military or a veteran. At the state level, the crime would be punishable by a year in prison and or a fine of up to $1,000.
