A New York woman who claimed to be a decorated combat veteran was sentenced Tuesday to over a year in federal prison for defrauding veteran-focused charities and falsely claiming to be a Purple Heart recipient — all while building a house of lies on the backs of real homeless veterans.
Sharon Toney-Finch, a 43-year-old Army veteran from Newburgh, NY, was sentenced in White Plains federal court to 12 months and one day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for a years-long scheme involving wire fraud and stolen valor. The sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Judge Vincent L. Briccetti, who described her actions as “appalling” and “disrespectful to [her] fellow veterans.”
Toney-Finch previously pleaded guilty in March 2025 after investigators revealed she had scammed legitimate veteran charities out of roughly $85,000, using doctored paperwork and concocted war stories to boost her fake reputation as a Purple Heart recipient.
“Let today’s sentence reaffirm that fraud built on lies about service and sacrifice will carry a heavy price,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton.
The Charity That Helped No One
Toney-Finch was the founder of the Yerik Israel Toney Foundation (YIT Foundation), a registered 501(c)(3) based in Sullivan County, which falsely claimed to support families of premature babies and homeless veterans. The foundation’s public mission was noble. The reality was a shameful grift.
Despite promising aid to struggling veterans, the foundation did virtually nothing to assist those in need. Instead, funds intended for housing and support were funneled into Toney-Finch’s personal lifestyle — paying for her BMW, gym memberships, travel, and lavish meals.
She even went as far as to falsify military discharge paperwork, submitting a doctored DD-214 to the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor and attending ceremonies under false pretenses. At one such event, she stood beside commissioned officers, claiming to have survived an IED attack in Iraq that left her severely wounded while heroically saving others. None of it was true.
A Manufactured Scandal with National Fallout
Toney-Finch’s biggest stunt exploded into the national spotlight in May 2023, when she claimed that her nonprofit was helping house a group of homeless veterans evicted from the Crossroads Hotel in Newburgh to make room for migrants sent from New York City.
The story, pushed through sympathetic media outlets and local politicians, ignited political outrage and prompted a flood of donations — including one $25,000 wire from a single donor.
But it was all fiction.
The supposed “displaced veterans” were actually a group of 15 homeless men recruited from a shelter in Poughkeepsie, bribed with $200, food, and alcohol to pretend they were military veterans. One man told reporters, “We ate like kings,” describing a meal paid for by Toney-Finch at the Daily Planet Diner before being coached on how to lie to elected officials.
The men were told to claim they’d been evicted from the Crossroads Hotel and rehoused by the YIT Foundation — none of which had occurred. If questioned too closely, they were allegedly instructed to respond, “I’m too traumatized to talk about it.”
Web of Lies Unraveled by Journalists and Lawmakers
Assemblyman Brian Maher initially supported Toney-Finch’s version of events — until he began asking for proof and financial records. When those records failed to materialize, and as homeless men came forward with the truth, Maher publicly admitted he had been deceived.
“She explained to me that this did not happen the way she purported it to,” Maher said after a phone conversation with Toney-Finch.
Further investigation by Mid Hudson News revealed that no veterans affiliated with YIT ever stayed at the Crossroads Hotel — contradicting every claim Toney-Finch had made.
Orange County Chamber of Commerce President Heather Bell-Meyer, who had also supported Toney-Finch and sat on the foundation’s advisory board, was present at the meeting where the imposters posed as displaced veterans. Bell-Meyer has not commented further.
Fake Injuries, False Valor
While Toney-Finch’s crimes were ultimately financial and fraudulent, they were made possible by an elaborate, years-long myth about her military service. As federal prosecutors established, she falsely claimed to be the victim of an IED blast in Iraq and submitted doctored paperwork claiming a Purple Heart.
These lies weren’t only told in private — they were repeated publicly, dramatically, and strategically.
In 2023, Havok Journal, a popular military culture website, published a glowing narrative titled “The Voyage of a Woman Warrior”. The article painted Toney-Finch as a former Army 92A logistics specialist who survived a devastating IED strike, endured a shattered pelvis, skull fractures, and dozens of surgeries, and somehow returned to duty. It went further, linking the tragic premature death of her child to her mission of founding the YIT Foundation.
Much of what was written mirrored the false claims she told donors and podcast audiences — claims that helped her raise tens of thousands of dollars.
This narrative, dressed in valor and sacrifice, wasn’t just a personal fabrication — it was a fundraising tool. It opened doors, won sympathy, and secured money under false pretenses. And it did so by standing on the backs of the real wounded, the real fallen, and the real homeless veterans she pretended to help.
For her lies and financial crimes, Toney-Finch must now forfeit $85,000, pay $84,000 in restitution, and spend a year behind bars. Her fraudulent exploits were investigated by the FBI Hudson Valley White Collar Crime Task Force, the VA Office of Inspector General, the Orange County DA and Sheriff’s Office, and Army CID.
Stolen valor isn’t just a cheap boast. In this case, it was a business model.
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