RI woman in 'stolen valor' fraud case sentenced to prison. Here's how long she'll serve.

PROVIDENCE – Sarah Cavanaugh, the now-infamous imposter who for years posed as a disabled Marine veteran, garnering sympathy and more than $250,000 from charity groups, arrived at federal court Tuesday afternoon in a green puffy jacket with plans to see her therapist when she got home from her sentencing.

But she left the courtroom almost three hours later in handcuffs, headed straight to a prison cell to begin a 70-month sentence for a scam that a prosecutor said “plumbed the depths of moral depravity.”

U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. remanded Cavanaugh, 32, immediately into custody "for the safety of the community and the defendant."

With about two dozen veterans and their supporters in the courtroom gallery, McConnell accepted a prosecutor’s suggested sentence of almost six years, noting how Cavanaugh “destroyed the heart of giving people” in a manner that “is incomprehensible to me.”

While Cavanaugh’s lawyer, Kensley R. Barrett, had raised the issue of Cavanaugh’s childhood sexual abuse as a contributing factor in some of her actions, McConnell said “that doesn’t answer everything you did.“

McConnell said he couldn’t stop thinking about one veteran with cancer, Justin Hsu, who spoke in his courtroom as a victim who sought Cavanaugh out after hearing the VA social worker supposedly also had cancer.

McConnell said Hsu paid Cavanaugh’s supposed monthly insurance premium of $599 for 10 months so she too could receive treatment at a Boston cancer center. Cavanaugh didn’t have cancer and never served in the military.

That kind of fabrication demands “severe punishment,” the judge said.

Cavanaugh nodded from the defense table. In speaking to the court, she said, in part, "I'm sorry for what I did and the people I hurt. I know the damage cannot be undone....I will always carry the burden of shame for what I've done."

In an apparent reference to what her former VFW post members told the court about post donations dropping since Cavanaugh's exposure, she said "No one should be punished for what I've done."

Cavanaugh struggled in the past with mental health and substance abuse issues, she said. She spoke of community healing and said she planned to work as much as possible before going to prison to continue paying back more of the $294,000 she owes. But McConnell's order that she be held immediately squashed those plans.

More on Cavanaugh: Sarah Cavanaugh, at the center of RI 'stolen valor' fraud case, will be sentenced Tuesday

Background on Cavanaugh's 'stolen valor' case

Her scheme included using the medical files of real veterans she knew as a social worker at the Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center to create her own bogus documents of a decorated and disabled veteran.

She submitted the documents to groups such as the Wounded Warrior Project and Code of Support to qualify for financial help for everything from paying her mortgage and grocery bills to a gym membership, yoga classes and furnace repairs. A GoFundMe page entitled “Help Sarah Win Her Battle” raised $4,766.

In his pre-sentencing report to the court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald R. Gendron said “Cavanaugh’s crimes are among the more reprehensible seen in this district.”

"She did not commit them out of sudden passion or opportunity,” Gendron wrote. “Rather, she defrauded veterans, veterans’ organizations, veterans’ charities, friends and co-workers in a methodical and calculated manner over a period of years."

Cavanaugh, who never served in the military, first registered as a veteran with the Wounded Warrior Project in April 2016, submitting falsified discharge document to gain entry.

She represented herself as a combat Marine wounded in action by the detonation of an improvised explosive device in Iraq and having developed cancer as a result of inhaling particulate matter following the explosion and in burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Cavanaugh’s false claims of suffering a traumatic brain injury were instrumental to her being accepted into WWP’s Independence Program.

“As a result, Cavanaugh was provided with in-home care up to twice a week,” wrote Gendron, with aides shopping for her groceries, preparing her meals and driving her places.

Cavanaugh, of East Greenwich, seemed to relish her role-playing, serving as commander of a North Kingstown VFW post and appearing in full Marine uniform (she borrowed a friend's) in 2021 to dedicate a portion of Route 1 as the Purple Heart Trail. The Purple Heart and Bronze Star adorning her chest she ordered from a store.

More on Cavanaugh:Former VFW commander allegedly passed off VA patient's cancer diagnosis as her own

Sarah Cavanaugh's charges and plea

Prosecutors charged Cavanaugh with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, forged military discharge certificates and fraudulent use of military records.

In exchange for her guilty pleas, they recommended a sentence of 70 months, considered in the low end of sentencing guidelines.

Wire fraud carried a prison guideline range of 46 months to 57 months, while the identity-theft charge carried a mandatory minimum sentence of two years.

Her defense lawyer Barrett, had asked for a prison sentence of 24 months in prison.

More on Cavanaugh:Ex-VFW commander admits to posing as Marine battling cancer to steal from veterans' groups

In his pre-sentencing report, Barrett said “Ms. Cavanaugh did not commit these crimes with malice in her heart or purely for economic benefit. This case and the actions that Ms. Cavanaugh undertook are much more nuanced than what it appears at first glance.”

Barrett alluded to Cavanaugh’s childhood trauma growing up in a violent household as playing a role in her actions.

“The trauma that she suffered as a teenager is real and is verified in detail by the accompanied letters that were filed under seal. The government’s assertion that it is somehow made up is grotesque.”

“Ms. Cavanaugh did not set out to defraud others for economic benefit or to cause this pain that she has caused,” Barrett said. “Conversely, she overcame her own personal trauma to help others suffering from trauma, but in the end, she failed miserably.”

After Judge McConnell handed down the sentence, one veteran in the gallery shot out a fist pump, another an audible sigh.

One happy veteran was Lisa Woodbury-Rama, 59, who served in the Army and was a fellow member of VFW Post 152 in North Kingstown which Cavanaugh had the audacity to command, a prosecutor said, while running her charade.

Outside the court house, Woodbury-Rama said she came to the sentencing because she wanted to “make this real” and to see Sarah. “The last time I had seen her it was at a VFW meeting -- There’s my little sister Sarah, there’s my fellow VFW woman. I felt like we had a lot in common.”

Did she still feel close to her?

“No, not one bit. There is no such thing as vengeance. However, I was very happy to see the judge went with the severest punishment ...because I think that sends a message.”

“Am I interested in ever talking to her again? Absolutely not.”

Contact Tom Mooney at: tmooney@providencejournal.com

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI 'stolen valor' case: Sarah Cavanaugh sentenced to prison term