A woman in upstate New York was arrested on Wednesday and charged with fraudulently claiming to be a Purple Heart recipient, federal prosecutors said.
The woman, Sharon Toney-Finch, 43, of Newburgh, N.Y., defrauded military charities and the Department of Veterans Affairs by lying about having received the Purple Heart, a military award given to those wounded or killed in action, Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement.
Ms. Toney-Finch claimed that she had survived a terrorist attack on her convoy in Iraq while serving a tour in March 2010, the statement said.
She also claimed to have been wounded in a mortar attack the preceding February.
In March 2016, Ms. Toney-Finch began collecting disability benefits from the department after lying about getting injured during her military service, federal prosecutors said.
Persons:
Sharon Toney, Finch, Damian Williams, Ms, Toney
Organizations:
Department of Veterans Affairs, Southern, of
Locations:
New York, Newburgh, N.Y, U.S, of New York, Iraq