WEBVTT - Episode 4: The Suspect 0:00:15.356 --> 0:00:22.596 Pushkin. Hey, it's Jake. I hope you enjoyed our season 0:00:22.796 --> 0:00:26.356 The Truth about Sarah. We'll be having a live event 0:00:26.596 --> 0:00:29.876 later this year. It's going to be a conversation between 0:00:29.996 --> 0:00:33.876 me and my co host Jess McHugh, and we want 0:00:33.916 --> 0:00:37.396 to hear from you too. What questions do you have 0:00:37.556 --> 0:00:41.516 for us about this season? Send your questions to deep 0:00:41.636 --> 0:00:45.636 Cover at pushkin dot fm. That's deep Cover All one 0:00:45.716 --> 0:00:49.836 word at pushkin dot fm and stay tuned for more 0:00:49.876 --> 0:00:54.476 details on this event. Just a heads up. In this episode, 0:00:54.916 --> 0:00:57.476 there's a reference to suicidal ideation. 0:01:00.676 --> 0:01:02.676 Previously on deep Cover. 0:01:03.956 --> 0:01:07.116 Veterans look out for each other, and I'm not going 0:01:07.196 --> 0:01:09.796 to sit here and let all of what I thought 0:01:09.796 --> 0:01:12.956 at the time was a fellow veteran die from lack 0:01:12.996 --> 0:01:13.556 of treatment. 0:01:14.676 --> 0:01:19.116 I was like, oh my god, you basically stole money. 0:01:19.636 --> 0:01:21.196 And I said to I, go, you're going to go 0:01:21.196 --> 0:01:23.956 to jail Sarah, And she's like you think. 0:01:24.596 --> 0:01:28.876 Dave told me like, hey, she's fake, she's not a veteran, 0:01:29.236 --> 0:01:31.396 and I was just in shock and trying to just 0:01:31.436 --> 0:01:32.756 like wrap my brain around it. 0:01:34.036 --> 0:01:35.636 I don't think it's ever going to be easy to 0:01:35.716 --> 0:01:40.516 think about the people I hurt, and because these are 0:01:40.596 --> 0:01:45.876 people that even before they knew I heard them right, 0:01:46.636 --> 0:01:52.636 I was hurting them right because I was lying to them. 0:01:52.796 --> 0:01:56.076 If there was one single person who really puts Sarah 0:01:56.116 --> 0:01:59.996 on the map in a very public way, well it'd 0:02:00.036 --> 0:02:01.196 be this woman right here. 0:02:02.396 --> 0:02:06.036 So my name is Kate Manion, and I am a 0:02:06.076 --> 0:02:09.076 co host of a podcast at Barstool Sports called zero 0:02:09.316 --> 0:02:13.236 Blog thirty Barstool Sports where I work. We're a media company, 0:02:14.436 --> 0:02:17.436 and I say this with love. We're probably the lowest 0:02:17.476 --> 0:02:20.876 brow media company. If you're coming to us for your 0:02:21.396 --> 0:02:25.796 exact factoids and opinions on stuff, you might be wrong. 0:02:26.836 --> 0:02:28.956 Kate is one of the very first people we reached 0:02:28.996 --> 0:02:32.556 out to when we started reporting this season. I sent 0:02:32.636 --> 0:02:36.076 her a message using my work email from the university 0:02:36.076 --> 0:02:36.796 where I teach. 0:02:37.836 --> 0:02:41.316 I'm like, oh, a Yale email address. What could my 0:02:41.436 --> 0:02:43.596 mind was blog like, what could this possibly be about? 0:02:43.596 --> 0:02:45.316 For me? It's got to be something to do with 0:02:45.316 --> 0:02:48.236 like butts or something. I because that's more the beat 0:02:48.276 --> 0:02:49.716 I cover asking. 0:02:49.556 --> 0:02:50.156 The deep question. 0:02:52.556 --> 0:02:55.796 That's amazing, that's your beat is like the buttocks beat. 0:02:58.836 --> 0:03:01.716 But way before she got busy on the buttocks beat, 0:03:02.236 --> 0:03:03.796 Kate had served in the military. 0:03:05.036 --> 0:03:07.156 I was a senior in college with a one point 0:03:07.156 --> 0:03:12.156 eight GPA going into winter break just didn't show up 0:03:12.156 --> 0:03:15.236 for any of my finals. The school was like, you're done. 0:03:15.236 --> 0:03:16.676 You got to get out of here. And I was like, 0:03:16.796 --> 0:03:20.196 oh crap, my parents are going to be pissed and 0:03:20.276 --> 0:03:23.716 I needed a plan b I was like a recruiter's dream. 0:03:24.076 --> 0:03:26.196 I walked into the recruiting office and I knew I 0:03:26.236 --> 0:03:27.956 wanted the hardest branch. I was like, I need the 0:03:27.956 --> 0:03:30.716 biggest kick in the ass ever. Walked into the Marine 0:03:30.756 --> 0:03:33.876 Corps was like one ticket to Marine Corps, please all told. 0:03:34.556 --> 0:03:38.236 Kate's served about five years, including two tours in Afghanistan. 0:03:39.036 --> 0:03:42.876 After getting out, she found her way into podcasting at 0:03:42.876 --> 0:03:46.996 Barstool Sports. She hosted that show called Zero Blog thirty, 0:03:47.556 --> 0:03:49.036 all about life in the military. 0:03:50.156 --> 0:03:53.596 Basically, we go over what's happening in the military, spill 0:03:53.636 --> 0:03:56.876 the tea, a little bit about some gossip, and try 0:03:56.916 --> 0:03:57.756 to support each other. 0:03:58.876 --> 0:04:01.356 If you've listened to her show, you've heard Kate and 0:04:01.396 --> 0:04:04.476 her co hosts trying to help other veterans. However, they 0:04:04.516 --> 0:04:09.796 can often plugging veteran charities. Kate's a big support of 0:04:09.836 --> 0:04:11.396 a charity called Hunter seven. 0:04:12.676 --> 0:04:16.276 You might remember Sarah's friend Dex had actually submitted Sarah 0:04:16.356 --> 0:04:19.716 to Hunter seven to get help paying her medical bills. 0:04:20.436 --> 0:04:23.476 This Hunter seven connection, this is how Kate first learns 0:04:23.516 --> 0:04:24.516 about Sarah's story. 0:04:25.836 --> 0:04:29.756 I am scrolling through the Hunter seven social media and 0:04:29.836 --> 0:04:35.196 I see them post about this marine veteran, Sarah Cavanaugh. 0:04:36.476 --> 0:04:40.836 Hunter seven has something called an Immediate Needs program. It's 0:04:40.876 --> 0:04:43.996 for veterans who struggle to pay medical bills and have 0:04:44.116 --> 0:04:48.636 illnesses connected to their service. They or someone on their 0:04:48.636 --> 0:04:52.636 behalf can submit a request. And that's what Decks had 0:04:52.676 --> 0:04:57.436 done for Sarah. Submitted her application, and now Hunter seven 0:04:57.476 --> 0:05:00.796 was publicizing Sarah's tragic story online. 0:05:02.196 --> 0:05:05.956 They were sharing her story of her diagnosis, and I 0:05:06.076 --> 0:05:09.636 remember like sobbing as I read her story. I was 0:05:09.676 --> 0:05:13.356 so blown away by it. It was like eight pages 0:05:13.436 --> 0:05:17.836 long on their Instagram story, and she gave them details 0:05:17.836 --> 0:05:21.476 like there was a five centimeter long nodule, it's in 0:05:21.516 --> 0:05:24.556 her femur, her rips, her scapula, thoracic spine, and now 0:05:24.596 --> 0:05:27.756 there's lesions on her brain. Like the medical lingo that 0:05:27.836 --> 0:05:30.276 went into this was so detailed. 0:05:31.476 --> 0:05:35.476 The post also mentioned that Sarah's CT scan showed metallic 0:05:35.556 --> 0:05:40.276 particles in her lungs, something often linked to ied blasts. 0:05:41.396 --> 0:05:43.636 I was like, oh my god, this cancer is related 0:05:43.716 --> 0:05:47.076 directly to her time in service to so many things 0:05:47.076 --> 0:05:49.636 that myself and my friends were exposed to things like this, 0:05:49.876 --> 0:05:52.996 And so I guess you see yourself mirrored in somebody 0:05:53.236 --> 0:05:56.156 and you see them going through a nightmare scenario and 0:05:56.196 --> 0:05:58.676 you're like, holy shit, that could be me. How can 0:05:58.716 --> 0:05:59.076 I help? 0:06:00.716 --> 0:06:03.716 Kate does everything she can to spread the word. She 0:06:03.996 --> 0:06:07.196 donates herself, but she also posts on her social media 0:06:07.236 --> 0:06:10.276 account trying to rally as many people as she can 0:06:10.396 --> 0:06:14.756 to help Sarah. And then at some point she gets 0:06:14.756 --> 0:06:17.876 a call from the woman who's the director of Hunter seven. 0:06:18.556 --> 0:06:19.876 When she reached out to me, it was like, I 0:06:19.916 --> 0:06:21.596 have some crazy news for you. 0:06:22.716 --> 0:06:26.116 That's when Kate learned that all of those details about 0:06:26.156 --> 0:06:30.276 Sarah's medical condition, like the five centimeter long nodule in 0:06:30.316 --> 0:06:34.796 her lungs, appeared to be made up or stolen, and 0:06:34.836 --> 0:06:37.556 that Sarah wasn't who she claimed to be. 0:06:38.436 --> 0:06:41.876 I remember the heartbreak I felt, and I just like 0:06:42.476 --> 0:06:45.156 my heart dropped into my butt. It was like I 0:06:45.196 --> 0:06:49.876 couldn't to put it eloquently, I could not believe it, 0:06:50.316 --> 0:06:51.596 and I didn't want it to be true. 0:06:52.636 --> 0:06:56.716 Shortly after this, Kate goes public on her podcast. Here's 0:06:56.716 --> 0:06:59.556 a clip from that episode where she's talking to her 0:06:59.596 --> 0:07:01.316 co hosts about what happened. 0:07:01.796 --> 0:07:04.156 The feeling was so gross, Like I didn't donate a 0:07:04.156 --> 0:07:05.636 ton of money, but I donated it was like a 0:07:05.716 --> 0:07:08.996 hundred bucks. But I like my emotions, my time, like 0:07:09.156 --> 0:07:12.236 hosting all this stuff. I was genuinely moved by her story. 0:07:14.156 --> 0:07:18.156 Kate goes on like this, venting about the mess Sarah's caused. 0:07:18.596 --> 0:07:21.916 She says that this whole scandal will only scare people 0:07:21.956 --> 0:07:26.396 away from donating to veterans' charities, leaving less help for 0:07:26.436 --> 0:07:29.476 those who really need it. She told her co hosts 0:07:30.156 --> 0:07:32.876 this would just make it way harder for real women 0:07:32.996 --> 0:07:36.716 combat vets to get the respect they deserve, which really 0:07:36.756 --> 0:07:37.596 pissed Kate off. 0:07:38.116 --> 0:07:40.996 Holy shit, this story is. Yeah, I'm sure more is 0:07:41.036 --> 0:07:42.836 going to come out about it. I'm interested to see. 0:07:42.836 --> 0:07:47.676 But anyway, ncis, FBI, via like all these different organizations 0:07:47.676 --> 0:07:49.116 now are coming after her. 0:07:49.996 --> 0:07:53.876 Kate was more right than she knew. Law enforcement officials 0:07:54.196 --> 0:07:58.396 had already started investigating Sarah Kavanaugh on the down low, 0:07:58.836 --> 0:08:02.916 trying to keep it quiet, and now Kate's podcast would 0:08:02.916 --> 0:08:09.036 put pressure on investigators to go into overdrive. Over many years, 0:08:09.476 --> 0:08:12.516 Sarah had built a house of lies. The people she 0:08:12.636 --> 0:08:16.836 deceived lived in separate, shuttered rooms, hidden from one another. 0:08:17.716 --> 0:08:21.796 But now the foundation was cracking, as were the walls, 0:08:22.436 --> 0:08:26.036 and the truth was seeping in, piercing in its brightness, 0:08:26.636 --> 0:08:47.356 as her carefully built world came undone. I'm Jay Colburn 0:08:47.796 --> 0:08:52.236 and I'm Jess McHugh And this is Deep Cover Season six, 0:08:52.876 --> 0:09:24.996 The Truth About Sarah, Episode four, The Suspect. 0:09:36.276 --> 0:09:38.716 We have to talk about this Instagram post for a second, 0:09:39.356 --> 0:09:42.716 the one that Hunter seven shared about Sarah Kavanaugh. This 0:09:42.836 --> 0:09:45.356 is the post that Kate saw, the one that brought 0:09:45.356 --> 0:09:49.316 her to tears. This post had all the details of 0:09:49.356 --> 0:09:54.636 Sarah's supposed injuries and a photo of her in her uniform. Well, 0:09:55.036 --> 0:09:58.956 a lot of people saw and shared this post, and 0:09:59.076 --> 0:10:03.596 as it made the rounds, people started commenting saying something 0:10:03.636 --> 0:10:08.396 looked off about her uniform. For one thing, she was 0:10:08.436 --> 0:10:13.676 wearing a of regulation earrings, and also, upon closer inspection, 0:10:14.476 --> 0:10:18.796 it looked like her eagle globe and anchor insignia were backwards. 0:10:20.316 --> 0:10:23.716 The folks at hundred seven started getting suspicious, so they 0:10:23.756 --> 0:10:27.556 called the VA to verify Sarah's service record. Folks at 0:10:27.556 --> 0:10:30.676 the VA do a quick check in their database. Sarah's 0:10:30.676 --> 0:10:35.116 not in it, at least not as a veteran, and 0:10:35.196 --> 0:10:38.116 this hot mess. It all lands on the desk of 0:10:38.156 --> 0:10:40.076 a guy named Tom Donnelly. 0:10:41.316 --> 0:10:44.836 The chief of VA Police in Rhode Island, called me 0:10:46.516 --> 0:10:49.596 and said, Hey, you know, I think we might have 0:10:49.636 --> 0:10:51.676 a problem with an employee. 0:10:53.036 --> 0:10:58.756 That's Donnelly. He's an investigator with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Basically, 0:10:59.356 --> 0:11:02.676 he's an in house detective for the VA's Office of 0:11:02.716 --> 0:11:08.196 Inspector General looking into fraud and other sketchy business, which 0:11:08.196 --> 0:11:11.036 is why he was the one to get this call 0:11:11.156 --> 0:11:15.676 about Sarah Kavanaugh, a VIA social worker who had apparently 0:11:16.156 --> 0:11:18.316 gone rogue. 0:11:18.636 --> 0:11:21.796 Now Donnelly is looking at more than just a scammer. 0:11:22.556 --> 0:11:26.116 He's got someone working the system from the inside, like 0:11:26.196 --> 0:11:30.876 a mole in his own ranks. So he opens an investigation, 0:11:31.716 --> 0:11:34.516 and he's just a few days into it when Kate's 0:11:34.556 --> 0:11:36.676 podcast comes out on Barstool. 0:11:37.996 --> 0:11:43.556 So our concern is that we don't know the extent 0:11:43.596 --> 0:11:45.476 of it yet, like we don't know all the evidence 0:11:45.516 --> 0:11:49.196 that there is, which opens the avenue for her to 0:11:49.356 --> 0:11:54.156 potentially destroy evidence or covert tracks a little bit, or 0:11:54.236 --> 0:11:56.476 try to talk to witnesses and get them to not cooperate. 0:11:59.156 --> 0:12:02.036 But here is the good news for Donnelley. Right from 0:12:02.036 --> 0:12:06.196 the start, he had some incriminating evidence, an important set 0:12:06.196 --> 0:12:10.836 of documents. These documents, they all came from Hunter seven 0:12:11.036 --> 0:12:15.036 to charity. They were actually documents that Sarah herself had 0:12:15.036 --> 0:12:18.916 submitted to bolster her lies to support her false claims 0:12:18.916 --> 0:12:23.196 of being a veteran and a cancer patient. These records 0:12:23.236 --> 0:12:27.556 would help Donnelly do two really important things. First, they'd 0:12:27.556 --> 0:12:31.516 help him get a warrant to search Sarah's house. Second, 0:12:32.236 --> 0:12:35.876 like a trail of breadcrumbs, they'd lead him right to 0:12:35.956 --> 0:12:40.396 the doorstep of several people Sarah had deceived, and this, 0:12:40.916 --> 0:13:00.916 in turn would spark some pretty tough conversations. We'll get 0:13:00.916 --> 0:13:04.196 to the search warrant in a bit, but first I 0:13:04.236 --> 0:13:08.996 want to tell you about those conversations. Donnelly contacted Justin, 0:13:09.596 --> 0:13:13.316 Sarah's friend from the VFW. He was the one battling 0:13:13.356 --> 0:13:17.556 stage four lung cancer. At this point. Justin had heard 0:13:17.596 --> 0:13:21.076 the rumors about Sarah being a fraud, but there was 0:13:21.076 --> 0:13:24.836 still so much that he didn't know. Donnelly arranged for 0:13:24.876 --> 0:13:28.876 them to meet at the naval base in Newport, Rhode Island. 0:13:28.956 --> 0:13:32.116 Justin recalls that they gathered in an old conference room, 0:13:32.636 --> 0:13:38.196 a forgotten rundown, beat up place. Old furniture was stacked haphazardly, 0:13:38.636 --> 0:13:41.196 like it had been cleared out for some event and 0:13:41.276 --> 0:13:46.116 never put back. Looking around the room, Justin saw agents 0:13:46.156 --> 0:13:47.676 from a number of federal. 0:13:47.356 --> 0:13:54.636 Agencies NCIS, I think, FBI, and VA investigators all all. 0:13:54.676 --> 0:13:56.196 I sat down with them all at the same time. 0:13:57.196 --> 0:14:00.876 They were extremely sympathetic. First of all, I mean they 0:14:00.876 --> 0:14:08.076 were visibly upset, but they just kind of laid it 0:14:08.076 --> 0:14:09.796 out and they said, look, you know, like this is 0:14:09.796 --> 0:14:10.676 what we think she did. 0:14:11.796 --> 0:14:15.636 They explained how they'd put together the pieces. One of 0:14:15.716 --> 0:14:20.556 Donnelly's colleagues had noticed something interesting about Sarah's medical records 0:14:20.596 --> 0:14:21.476 from Hunter seven. 0:14:22.276 --> 0:14:28.356 There's this rare procedure in the medical notes. It's got 0:14:28.396 --> 0:14:30.876 a date on it. The providence via only did that 0:14:31.156 --> 0:14:33.116 procedure to one person on that day. 0:14:34.716 --> 0:14:39.876 And that person was Justin. When investigators compared the two 0:14:39.916 --> 0:14:44.516 sets of medical records, Sarah's and Justin's looked pretty much identical. 0:14:45.756 --> 0:14:48.636 Justin's doctor had even made a few typos, and those 0:14:48.716 --> 0:14:52.756 exact same typos were in Sarah's records. It was a 0:14:52.796 --> 0:14:53.796 cut and pace job. 0:14:55.116 --> 0:14:58.356 What immediately occurred to me was that as soon as 0:14:58.356 --> 0:15:01.876 I told her I'd cancer, even though she was telling 0:15:01.916 --> 0:15:03.356 me it was okay, in the back of her mind 0:15:03.396 --> 0:15:05.396 she was thinking, I can take advantage of this. 0:15:06.796 --> 0:15:10.036 You might recall from our last episode, Justin had given 0:15:10.076 --> 0:15:13.396 Sarah money, supposedly so she could pay for her own 0:15:13.476 --> 0:15:18.396 cancer treatment. Sarah had taken this money under false pretenses, 0:15:19.916 --> 0:15:24.316 but as Donnelly had discovered, she'd also done something far 0:15:24.356 --> 0:15:28.396 more devious. Using her privileges as a social worker at 0:15:28.396 --> 0:15:33.676 the Providence VA, Sarah had accessed Justin's medical records. She 0:15:33.756 --> 0:15:37.756 had stolen them, doctored them, and passed them off as 0:15:37.756 --> 0:15:38.116 her own. 0:15:39.436 --> 0:15:41.716 I just couldn't brop my head around what kind of 0:15:41.716 --> 0:15:46.396 person would do that to another person that was especially 0:15:46.396 --> 0:15:53.396 that was you knew was sick, that was getting treatment, 0:15:53.476 --> 0:15:57.076 that was, you know, dying, and you're going to take 0:15:57.076 --> 0:16:05.116 advantage of that person with no no reservations whatsoever. I 0:16:05.156 --> 0:16:07.756 thought about it for a very long time after that, 0:16:07.916 --> 0:16:10.676 just like it just I couldn't stop thinking about how 0:16:11.716 --> 0:16:13.196 how much I was violated by that. 0:16:21.836 --> 0:16:24.836 Justin laid out his side of the story for investigators 0:16:25.316 --> 0:16:28.316 how he'd given Sarah thousands of dollars for her treatment. 0:16:29.316 --> 0:16:34.476 Justin was able to provide them with very specific evidence, dates, amounts, 0:16:34.636 --> 0:16:39.516 and transaction records for every electronic transfer, all of which 0:16:39.596 --> 0:16:41.796 would be helpful to Donnelly's investigation. 0:16:49.396 --> 0:16:52.436 One of the other documents that Donnelly had gotten from 0:16:52.556 --> 0:16:56.796 Hunter seven was a set of medical bills. These bills 0:16:57.196 --> 0:17:01.676 were from Dana Farber, a cancer hospital in Boston. The 0:17:01.756 --> 0:17:09.036 bills looked real, so if they weren't Sarah's, whose were they. 0:17:09.276 --> 0:17:13.076 Donnelly and his colleagues slowly pieced together where the bills 0:17:13.076 --> 0:17:17.276 had come from, and this trail of clues would eventually 0:17:17.356 --> 0:17:21.036 lead them to a physical therapy clinic outside of Providence, 0:17:21.956 --> 0:17:27.316 and that clinic it belonged to Sam. Sam was Sarah's 0:17:27.316 --> 0:17:32.196 physical therapist. They become friends, and then much more than that. 0:17:33.036 --> 0:17:36.836 Sarah had become a fixture in Sam's life. She'd even 0:17:36.876 --> 0:17:41.236 helped out when Sam's mom was ill. Donnelly, along with 0:17:41.316 --> 0:17:44.716 a few other federal agents, just showed up at Sam's 0:17:44.716 --> 0:17:49.276 PT clinic one day with a subpoena and some questions. 0:17:50.196 --> 0:17:51.356 And I was like, well, where do you want to 0:17:51.916 --> 0:17:55.036 have this meeting. I will not have it in my 0:17:55.116 --> 0:17:58.556 practice because I had no private room. I said, I 0:17:58.596 --> 0:18:00.436 will not have it at my home, and they'll go 0:18:00.476 --> 0:18:01.996 what about a cafe? I said, no, I was not 0:18:02.036 --> 0:18:04.436 going to cafe. I was like, everyone knows me in 0:18:04.476 --> 0:18:07.436 this town. Absolutely not. So we basically had the interview 0:18:07.476 --> 0:18:10.076 in their car. I was sitting in the front turn 0:18:10.156 --> 0:18:11.876 like this the entire time, and there was another woman 0:18:11.876 --> 0:18:13.636 who was in the driver's seat saying thank herring looking 0:18:13.636 --> 0:18:14.636 at me the entire time. 0:18:15.996 --> 0:18:19.276 The fence started talking about Sam's mom asked if she 0:18:19.316 --> 0:18:21.716 was in treatment for cancer and I. 0:18:21.716 --> 0:18:24.356 Said yeah, And I went into this whole story that 0:18:25.516 --> 0:18:27.956 she was going to Rhode Island, wasn't getting really the 0:18:27.956 --> 0:18:29.996 care that she needed, so she went to Dana Farber. 0:18:31.396 --> 0:18:34.956 So there's Sam in the car in the parking lot 0:18:34.996 --> 0:18:38.556 at her work, cramped between a bunch of federal agents, 0:18:39.436 --> 0:18:42.516 wondering what all this could possibly have to do with 0:18:42.556 --> 0:18:48.076 her mom. That's when investigators asked her. 0:18:47.596 --> 0:18:54.436 Do you realize that Sarah used a bill, one of 0:18:54.436 --> 0:18:58.356 your mother's bills from Dana Farber? And I said no, 0:18:58.436 --> 0:19:02.196 I didn't realize that. I didn't know that. And I said, 0:19:02.596 --> 0:19:05.636 that's really disappointing, and that's when I got upset and 0:19:05.636 --> 0:19:06.316 I started crying. 0:19:09.516 --> 0:19:13.156 Just a few weeks earlier, Sam had learned that Sarah 0:19:13.196 --> 0:19:17.356 had been lying to her for years about nearly everything. 0:19:18.476 --> 0:19:27.516 But this was different. These documents from Hunter seven. They 0:19:27.556 --> 0:19:32.436 would be key to Donnelly's investigation because even before he 0:19:32.476 --> 0:19:36.516 sat down with Justin and Sam, they gave him ample 0:19:36.636 --> 0:19:42.276 evidence of a crime. Those documents would allow him to 0:19:42.276 --> 0:19:47.356 do something really crucial yet, a warrant search Sarah's house. 0:19:50.796 --> 0:20:09.636 We'll be right back. Early on the morning of February 0:20:09.716 --> 0:20:15.236 third two, search warrant in hand, Donnelly set out for 0:20:15.356 --> 0:20:16.076 Sarah's house. 0:20:17.436 --> 0:20:20.596 So we got the got the paperwork signed, figure out 0:20:20.596 --> 0:20:22.236 how we're going to approach the house. We all pile 0:20:22.276 --> 0:20:25.476 into our cars and we drive down Rhode Island. 0:20:26.356 --> 0:20:28.356 Donnelly had a couple of his own agents with him, 0:20:28.836 --> 0:20:30.156 a couple of agents from the FBI. 0:20:31.396 --> 0:20:34.516 So we get there and you know, it's snowing, and 0:20:34.556 --> 0:20:39.876 everyone like surrounds the house. Everyone's got their tactical plate 0:20:39.916 --> 0:20:42.876 carrier vests on. Everyone's all dressed up for the occasion, 0:20:44.516 --> 0:20:48.356 and we form, you know, a stack of agents to 0:20:48.396 --> 0:20:51.716 go up and knock on the door. So requirement of 0:20:52.036 --> 0:20:55.356 a normal search warran is that you knock, you announce, 0:20:55.596 --> 0:20:57.516 you know, police search warrant, and then you give a 0:20:57.556 --> 0:21:02.276 reasonable amount of time for somebody inside to answer the door. 0:21:02.436 --> 0:21:06.316 So knocking on the door loudly announcing nobody's coming. 0:21:07.796 --> 0:21:11.196 So this crowd of age is standing there in Sarah's 0:21:11.196 --> 0:21:14.236 front yard debating whether they should break in the door. 0:21:14.956 --> 0:21:19.276 And it's snowing, freezing cold. So what does Donnelly do? 0:21:20.076 --> 0:21:23.516 Turns out he's got Sarah's cell phone number. He's never 0:21:23.556 --> 0:21:26.916 actually spoken to her, but he figures, hey, maybe before 0:21:26.916 --> 0:21:29.476 I bust this door down, I should, you know, give 0:21:29.476 --> 0:21:32.316 her a ring very considerate. You never see that in 0:21:32.356 --> 0:21:36.436 the police movies, right, detective gives suspect a courtesy call, 0:21:37.196 --> 0:21:41.156 but that's what he does. He calls her and she 0:21:41.236 --> 0:21:42.796 picks up, and. 0:21:42.716 --> 0:21:47.236 I said like, hey, we are at your house. It's 0:21:47.276 --> 0:21:50.476 the police. Are you in the house. We need you 0:21:50.516 --> 0:21:54.396 to come to the door, and she says no, I 0:21:54.756 --> 0:21:55.236 went out. 0:21:57.396 --> 0:22:00.116 Sarah had slipped out of the house without anyone knowing. 0:22:00.956 --> 0:22:02.596 Donald is not quite sure how. 0:22:04.396 --> 0:22:07.076 Oh she ducked surrounds and it wasn't that she was 0:22:07.076 --> 0:22:08.916 trying to avoid survealans she was trying to avoid the 0:22:08.916 --> 0:22:11.316 new but it had the side effect of avoiding the surveillance. 0:22:11.516 --> 0:22:13.276 I said, all right, you said you're fifteen minutes away, 0:22:13.276 --> 0:22:16.276 You've got exactly fifteen minutes to come back, and if 0:22:16.276 --> 0:22:18.996 you don't come back, then at that point we're going 0:22:19.076 --> 0:22:21.196 to have to force away into your house. 0:22:22.276 --> 0:22:25.636 While they're all waiting on Sarah, an agent notices there's 0:22:25.676 --> 0:22:29.516 a back window that's unlocked, so he shimmeys through it 0:22:29.596 --> 0:22:31.996 and opens the front door for the rest of the agents. 0:22:32.756 --> 0:22:35.396 By the time Sarah pulled up, the search was in 0:22:35.476 --> 0:22:38.716 full swing. The whole street was blocked off. 0:22:38.756 --> 0:22:46.316 There was a dozen cars cars, there's agents everywhere, evidence bags, evidence. 0:22:45.996 --> 0:22:50.236 Tapes, and Donnelly laid eyes on Sarah for the first time. 0:22:50.996 --> 0:22:56.316 So she pulled up. Maybe bewildered is the word I 0:22:56.356 --> 0:22:59.116 would use, just because there's all these people milling about. 0:22:59.156 --> 0:23:03.316 The FBI people are wearing their play carriers that say 0:23:03.356 --> 0:23:05.436 FBI and big letters on them. 0:23:05.636 --> 0:23:07.836 So Donnally tells her, look, you can't be in the 0:23:07.836 --> 0:23:10.236 house while we search. You can go wait at a 0:23:10.276 --> 0:23:12.956 friend's or get a coffee at Duncan, but you can't 0:23:12.996 --> 0:23:18.916 go in the house. Sarah decides to wait outside all right. 0:23:18.996 --> 0:23:21.996 Thursday, February third, three, twenty three pm. 0:23:22.476 --> 0:23:24.956 Video walk through as we leave the residence. 0:23:25.836 --> 0:23:28.076 We got footage of the search through a Freedom of 0:23:28.076 --> 0:23:29.796 Information Act request. 0:23:31.196 --> 0:23:34.116 This video was taken by an officer as he walked 0:23:34.116 --> 0:23:37.236 through the house. They were looking for Sarah's work phone 0:23:37.556 --> 0:23:41.996 and any computers, checks from charities that uniform that she'd 0:23:42.036 --> 0:23:47.436 been photographed in, any evidence that would corroborate their case. Meanwhile, 0:23:47.836 --> 0:23:50.676 Sarah was watching agents come in and out of the house. 0:23:51.436 --> 0:23:56.436 Sarah didn't say much. She just looked dazed. In Donnelly's words. 0:23:57.516 --> 0:23:59.836 Maybe like if you've ever seen someone immediately like after 0:23:59.876 --> 0:24:03.356 a car accident, where they're still trying to process exactly 0:24:03.396 --> 0:24:05.436 what just happened kind of thing. Because it was a 0:24:05.436 --> 0:24:06.916 big turnout. 0:24:07.196 --> 0:24:10.556 According to Sarah, by the time the FEDS searched her house, 0:24:11.356 --> 0:24:15.156 she was already in rough shape, mentally exhausted by the 0:24:15.196 --> 0:24:16.516 stress of all her lies. 0:24:17.476 --> 0:24:20.276 I lost a ton of weight, I began to drink 0:24:20.356 --> 0:24:29.036 extremely heavily, and I kind of lost interest in most 0:24:29.156 --> 0:24:31.196 other things. I began to just kind of go through 0:24:31.236 --> 0:24:35.396 the motions of these lies. Okay, just keep going, something's 0:24:35.396 --> 0:24:36.516 going to happen. It will end. 0:24:38.156 --> 0:24:41.836 For Sarah. The day of the search was kind of surreal. 0:24:42.996 --> 0:24:47.076 When they came to search my house. I had been 0:24:47.116 --> 0:24:49.676 like taking some pills to sleep or calm down, because 0:24:49.676 --> 0:24:51.156 I would get up during the night and I would 0:24:51.556 --> 0:24:54.156 walk around the house and check the windows. And this 0:24:54.316 --> 0:24:56.556 wasn't because I thought they were coming to search my 0:24:56.596 --> 0:24:58.956 house or anything. I had no idea about the investigation, 0:24:59.876 --> 0:25:02.156 but it was just this sense of like knowing I 0:25:02.196 --> 0:25:04.236 was lying in the paranoia that comes from that. 0:25:06.356 --> 0:25:10.276 Standing in the snow covered driveway, Donally tried to talk 0:25:10.316 --> 0:25:11.636 to Sarah. 0:25:12.036 --> 0:25:16.236 I had just said, Hey, why are we here today, 0:25:17.516 --> 0:25:19.876 and she had started to tell me about who she 0:25:20.236 --> 0:25:24.756 borrowed the Marine Corps uniform from that she had worn. 0:25:25.636 --> 0:25:29.036 And then I think at that point it really sink 0:25:29.076 --> 0:25:31.396 in what was happening, because there's agents coming in and 0:25:31.436 --> 0:25:35.676 out of the house. And then she said she stopped 0:25:35.676 --> 0:25:37.356 her story about the uniform and she just said, I'm 0:25:37.396 --> 0:25:38.956 not I'm not going to talk to you. 0:25:39.916 --> 0:25:42.916 I was so afraid, right, I was so so afraid. 0:25:43.476 --> 0:25:45.836 Not because I thought it was illegal, not because I'm 0:25:45.836 --> 0:25:48.116 thinking I'm going to go to prison, but because I'm like, 0:25:49.076 --> 0:25:51.516 they are not going to be my friends. Anymore. I'm 0:25:51.516 --> 0:25:56.356 not going to have these people in my life. 0:26:03.436 --> 0:26:07.036 The team of agents went through the house methodically placing 0:26:07.076 --> 0:26:08.636 items in evidence bags. 0:26:09.756 --> 0:26:14.116 There were VFW like donation bins in the basement, you know, 0:26:14.196 --> 0:26:18.076 like the five gallon buckets that they put out like 0:26:18.116 --> 0:26:20.756 when you're going to the grocery store or something. There 0:26:20.796 --> 0:26:21.636 was no money in them. 0:26:23.116 --> 0:26:27.476 They also found her VFW membership card and VFW polos 0:26:28.036 --> 0:26:31.876 mail from the Wounded Warrior Project. And inside a closet 0:26:31.916 --> 0:26:37.036 in her home office, Donnalley found something else, something very curious, 0:26:37.876 --> 0:26:39.476 a green colored notebook. 0:26:40.476 --> 0:26:44.076 I used to work in counterintelligence and investigations, and she 0:26:44.196 --> 0:26:47.356 had what, in my opinion, I would call a backstoped 0:26:47.356 --> 0:26:49.556 identity expand what. 0:26:49.516 --> 0:26:50.116