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A New York woman who falsely claimed to have received a Purple Heart and used a veterans’ charity to solicit donations was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison. Sharon Toney-Finch, 43, of Newburgh, had claimed that her foundation supported homeless and low-income veterans. She pleaded guilty in March 2025 to wire fraud and stolen valor offences. The court also ordered her to serve three years of supervised release, pay $84,000 in restitution and forfeit $85,000. She obtained approximately $85,000 through the scheme, which included lying about her military service. In June 2022, she persuaded a local foundation to give the YIT Foundation $10,000. The scheme involved approximately $85,000 in total, according to the case details released by federal prosecutors. In September 2021, she submitted a doctored military discharge certificate to the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor and was honoured at a Purple Heart ceremony alongside commissioned military officers. In May 2023, Toney-Finch made national news after telling a newspaper that her foundation had been supporting homeless veterans who were being evicted from a Newburgh hotel. At least one donor sent the foundation $25,000 after hearing the claims. On September 30, 2025, she was sentenced by US District Judge Vincent L.
Disclaimer: This article is based on publicly available information, including records and statements released by the US Department of Justice.
She used donated money mainly for personal expenses, including a BMW, gym membership, travel and meals, according to the US Department of Justice. However, prosecutors said the foundation was largely fraudulent. Toney-Finch said the money would fund the construction of housing for homeless veterans.
She had founded the Yerik Israel Toney Foundation, a registered charity established in Sullivan County. Toney-Finch was an Army veteran who had been honourably discharged with various commendations. The foundation reportedly aimed to raise awareness of premature births, assist premature babies and their families, and provide accommodation or transport while babies were in neonatal intensive care. It also claimed to help homeless and low-income military veterans who needed living assistance. She provided little to no actual help to veterans, despite claiming that her foundation supported those in need. Instead, she used donations from other veterans’ charities to pay for her personal expenses. The money donated to the foundation was used principally for Toney-Finch’s personal benefit. The expenses included payments for her BMW, a gym membership, travel, meals and other personal costs. The organisation provided grants to charities serving veterans, food pantries and domestic violence survivors. Instead, she used the grant principally to pay for her luxury vehicle and personal expenses at bars, restaurants and gyms. Toney-Finch repeatedly presented herself as a military hero who had received a Purple Heart. She falsely claimed that she had been injured in an improvised explosive device attack in Iraq. She also altered her military discharge paperwork to make it appear that she had received the medal. The following July, she appeared on a video podcast to discuss her foundation and military record. At the start of the appearance, she falsely described herself as a Purple Heart and Valor Award recipient although she never received a Purple Heart. She then recounted a fabricated attack and injuries requiring surgeries. She falsely claimed that the veterans were being forced out of the hotel to make room for migrants arriving by bus from New York City. Toney-Finch made false statements about housing homeless veterans who had supposedly been displaced by migrants. Briccetti. The judge described her conduct as ‘appalling’ and ‘disrespectful to her fellow veterans’ when imposing the prison term. The Times of India has not independently verified the claims, financial transactions, or other details mentioned. The information is based on the findings and court proceedings in the case. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.