Woman who pretended to be sick Marine veteran sentenced to nearly 6 years in prison

A former social worker at a Rhode Island veterans’ hospital who used stolen patient information to brazenly pass herself off as a decorated Marine Corps veteran with cancer was sentenced Tuesday to nearly six years in prison.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A former social worker at a Rhode Island veterans’ hospital who used stolen patient information to brazenly pass herself off as a decorated Marine Corps veteran with cancer and fraudulently collect nearly $300,000 in benefits, charitable contributions, and donations was sentenced Tuesday to nearly six years in prison.

A U.S. District Court in Providence also ordered Sarah Jane Cavanaugh, 32, to pay full restitution.

Cavanaugh attended public events in uniform where she spoke about the struggles veterans face, bought a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star to wear, and was even named commander of a Veterans of Foreign Wars post. Then, in early 2022 she was exposed when a charity she applied to for funds became suspicious and started checking her background.

“Sarah Cavanaugh’s conduct in the course of her scheme is nothing short of appalling,” U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha said in a statement. “By brazenly laying claim to the honor, service, and sacrifice of real veterans, this defendant preyed on the charity and decency of others for her own shameless financial gain.”

Cavanaugh’s defense attorney, Kensley Barrett, had sought a two-year sentence citing her lack of a criminal history, low risk of reoffending, and the “significant price” she has already paid through public disgrace, loss of her professional license, the breakup of her marriage, and even online death threats.