Ex-North Kingstown VFW commander accused of stolen valor barred from providing therapy

PROVIDENCE – A federal magistrate judge this week ordered a former North Kingstown VFW commander accused of posing as an ex-Marine battling cancer to swindle from veterans’ charity organizations not to hold herself out as a therapist after disclosures that she had used her married name to set up shop.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Lincoln D. Almond on Monday directed that Sarah Jane Cavanaugh not to represent herself as a therapist or social worker in any capacity or work in a position in which she has unsupervised access to people’s medical or military records, or any other personal or financial information.

Almond’s order came at the request of federal prosecutors who alerted the court late last month with concerns about Cavanaugh accessing clients’ personal and financial information.

How the judge's order happened

An unidentified woman contacted U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha’s office after being referred to Cavanaugh for therapy at an office on Thayer Street in Providence. In the course of determining whether Cavanaugh would be a good long-term fit, the woman discovered Cavanaugh was facing fraud and aggravated identity theft charges for allegedly impersonating a former Marine struggling with cancer to solicit donations from veterans' groups, according to a filing by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald R. Gendron.

The woman “expressed shock” that Cavanaugh was still practicing as a licensed independent social worker and “extreme concern” at having shared her medical, financial and other identification, Gendron said. She said the practice itself was not aware of Cavanaugh’s pending criminal charges.

Previous coverage: Former VFW commander accused of posing as an injured veteran to admit to fraud

Federal authorities then discovered that Cavanaugh had used her married name, Sarah Bregler, in late June to form Stet Therapeutic Services LLC with the secretary of state's office and had created the website – www.stettherapeuticservices.com – to offer counseling services by “Sarah B,” authorities said. The site, which is now private, included a portal to accept credit-card payments.

“Defendant’s alleged crimes were committed by appropriating and misusing patient information to which she had access exclusively by virtue of her status as a licensed social worker … Protection of the public’s health, safety, and welfare demands that defendant no longer be allowed to work in any job, or in any capacity, in which she would have access to patient medical or financial information while awaiting resolution of her charges,” Gendron wrote in asking the court to take action to restrict Cavanaugh’s access to clients’ information.

Cavanaugh’s lawyer, Kensley Barrett, noted Wednesday that she voluntarily surrendered her social-worker license with the state Department of Health, precluding her from providing social-work services or holding herself out as a licensed social worker.

“Ms. Cavanaugh is committed to atonement for her mistakes and to find suitable employment in a non-social-worker role or a non-prohibited environment so that she can be in a position to to pay restitution to the victims in her case,” Barrett said in an email. He and Nicholas J. Parrillo are representing Cavanaugh.

Barrett said late Wednesday that Cavanaugh's employer had let her go after she informed them of the charges she faces.

More background on Cavanaugh's case

Cavanaugh is set to plead guilty Tuesday before U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. to charges of fraud, aggravated identity theft, forgery and fraudulent use of medals.

Federal prosecutors have agreed to recommend a sentence in the low end of sentencing guidelines in which she faces a maximum of 24 years behind bars. The plea agreement specifies that the sentence she receives for wire fraud be served consecutively to the mandatory two years she faces in prison for aggravated identity theft.

She has paid $82,489 in restitution to the federal government from the sale of her former home.

Former VFW commanderaccused of faking military service charged with fraud, ID theft

Cavanaugh is accused of portraying herself as a wounded veteran who served overseas in the U.S. Marine Corps and received a Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. Photos in local media reports showed her in full uniform, wearing replica medals that authorities say she purchased online. A search of U.S. Department of Defense records revealed that she never served in any branch of the U.S. military, prosecutors said.

She claimed service led to lung cancer

Authorities alleged she had used her job as a social worker at the Providence VA Medical Center to steal a cancer patient's medical records and pass them off as her own to receive more than $200,000 from the Wounded Warrior Project and other charitable veterans’ groups.

She claimed that she had lung cancer due to exposure to burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan, and from inhaling particulate matter in the aftermath of an Improvised Explosive Device attack, investigators said.

As proof, Cavanaugh provided records of a cancer diagnosis and copies of medical bills that indicated she was undergoing cancer treatment at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. She also gave the charity a copy of the military discharge certificate known as a DD-214, according to a federal affidavit seeking a search warrant for her home.

Early February: North Kingstown VFW commander resigns amid allegations that she faked service

Federal prosecutors in March charged her with four felony counts of fraud and aggravated identity theft.

She resigned from VFW Post 152 in January amid allegations that she faked her military service and lied about having Stage IV lung cancer to solicit online donations.

In the aftermath of Cavanaugh's charges, state lawmakers criminalized stolen valor.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Ex-North Kingstown VFW commander can't practice therapy, judge orders