Highland woman who faked breast cancer pleads guilty to federal wire and mail fraud
A Highland woman accused of faking breast cancer and genetic disorders to receive financial assistance and other benefits has pleaded guilty in federal court to five counts of wire and mail fraud.
Sarah Delashmit, 35, a former nurse, appeared by video conferencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic at a change of plea hearing in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois on Tuesday.
In a plea agreement, prosecutors with the U.S. States Attorney’s office, in consultation with Delashmit’s attorney, Federal Assistant Public Defender David L. Brengle, recommended a sentence of eight months in prison.
U.S. District Court Judge Staci M. Yandle set a sentencing date of Jan. 19, 2021. Delashmit didn’t address the court except to answer simple questions. She told Yandle she held a bachelor’s degree and said “yes” when the judge asked:
“Do you understand that neither the agreement to recommend a sentence nor the parties’ estimation of the guideline range is binding on either myself or the United States Probation Office, and that I may in fact impose any sentence as authorized under the law?”
Each of the five counts of federal wire and mail fraud could result in a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.
Delashmit victimized a “countless” number of people all over the United States, according to Elisabeth Hickox, 55, a financial adviser who lives in Newport, Rhode Island.
“This woman has wreaked havoc with my life, as well as the lives of so many people we know and care about and even people we don’t know and that we care about,” Hickox said Monday before the hearing.
“She’s a public menace. When she messed with us, we did our best to get her help, but we really didn’t understand the enormity of the situation, and now that we understand the enormity of the situation, I want to see her brought to justice.”
Hickox said Delashmit pursued a friendship with her on social media, claiming to have stage 4 breast cancer, and Hickox and her family allowed Delashmit to stay with them for several weeks at a Florida vacation home in early 2019.
Hickox later appeared with Delashmit on two episodes of the TV talk show “Dr. Phil” on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
Hickox listened to the federal change of plea hearing Tuesday via telephone, as did Andrea Smith, 49, a stay-at-home mom in Piedmont, South Carolina.
“I was hoping this would be a long, drawn-out trial so I could fly there and go to court and just sit and stare at (Delashmit),” Smith said in a BND interview Tuesday. “I am that mad. She made a mockery of what I do.”
Smith has been volunteering for 16 years with organizations that help people with spinal muscular atrophy. She said Delashmit pretended to be three different people in internet chat groups in the mid-2000s, including a person with the genetic disorder and a mother of children with it.
Smith said Delashmit took time and assistance away from others who actually needed help and scammed to get a free quilt that Highland police later confiscated and returned to a charity.
“The effects have been lasting,” Smith said. “Now everybody is wary (of communicating on social media). There is a trust issue. We actually have a catchphrase in our community. Someone will say, ‘I think so-and-so is pulling a Sarah.’”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hoell represented the U.S. States Attorney’s office in Fairview Heights at Tuesday’s hearing.
Delashmit had been indicted in March on eight counts (four counts of wire fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of mail fraud). She pleaded not guilty during an arraignment on June 22, when she was released on recognizance.
According to the grand jury indictment, Delashmit falsely claimed in October 2015 and March 2016 that she was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy to attend Camp Summit, a nonprofit camp in Dallas, Texas, serving people with disabilities.
Delashmit allegedly applied to attend the camp and receive financial assistance by using another person’s identity and provided that person’s Social Security benefit statements as proof of income.
While at Camp Summit, the indictment stated, Delashmit confined herself to a wheelchair and pretended to need assistance with daily activities, such as bathing and getting dressed, despite being able to walk and care for herself.
The indictment also stated that Delashmit falsely claimed she was a breast cancer survivor from October 2017 to March 2018 to go on a trip and receive donated items through the Young Survival Coalition, a nonprofit organization in New York City.
Delashmit allegedly accepted a travel grant to attend the organization’s national summit in Florida and received a new bicycle and cycling equipment through its Tour de Pink Survivor Bike Program.
In May 2019, Delashmit used a stolen identity and credit card information to obtain a free triathlon bicycle from a Miami eBay user valued at almost $4,500, according to the indictment.
This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 12:45 PM with the headline "Highland woman who faked breast cancer pleads guilty to federal wire and mail fraud."
