20 years of fa:::bricati:::ng a ter:::minal illness: How did the FBI put an end to Sarah Delashmit’s charade? And here’s how they did it…

Sarah Delashmit on ‘Dr. Phil.’.Credit : Dr. Phil/Youtube

Sarah Delashmit lied about having cancer and genetic disorders — and ultimately, went to federal prison for it.

Delashmit spent nearly two decades creating various schemes, each more elaborate and far-fetched than the next.

In one, she pretended on internet message boards to be the mother of a son who had a rare disease known as Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) who had also been kidnapped, according to the iHeart True Crime podcast Sympathy Pains. In another, she reportedly claimed to have spent five weeks in a coma because of the Ebola virus, which damaged her hearing and left her in a wheelchair.

Over the years, Delashmit allegedly feigned multiple pregnancies, miscarriages, marriages, illnesses, ailments and even deaths. Whenever one lie was discovered, Delashmit simply pivoted to another tall tale. But eventually, Delashmit’s web of lies landed her in trouble with the law.

In April 2019, she appeared on the Dr. Phil show, where she was confronted by several of her victims and admitted to having a “lying addiction.” After confessing to faking having terminal breast cancer and muscular dystrophy, Delashmit vowed to get help. Unfortunately, that was a lie, too.

Within weeks of taping Dr. Phil, Delashmit was back to scamming, attempting to enter a charity swim event and steal a triathlon bicycle from an internet retailer. This time, however, the authorities were on alert.

So, where is Sarah Delashmit now? Here’s everything to know about her life today.

Who is Sarah Delashmit?

Delashmit is a native of Highland, Ill. Her parents, Connie and Dave Delashmit, divorced when she was a few months old, according to the Sympathy Pains podcast. Delashmit graduated from the local high school in 2003 and went on to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Elle reported.

But during her high school and college years, Delashmit began concocting lies and fake personas both online and in person. As early as 2001, she wrote posts in an online chat board posing as a mother of two children with muscular dystrophy, per Sympathy Pains. While in college, Delashmit told her roommates that she had had leukemia as a child and that her cancer had returned, requiring treatment.

At the same time, Delashmit was also posting in multiple online support groups pretending to be two different mothers of children with SMA and the sister of a woman with the inherited neuromuscular disease. In one forum, she even claimed to have the condition herself and received a handmade quilt from an SMA nonprofit known as Cole’s Quilts.

But members of the online support groups began to notice inconsistencies in Delashmit’s characters. When Andrea Smith, a representative for one of the SMA groups, discovered that the same email address was behind several of these personas, she contacted the FBI, who, in turn, reached out to the Highland Police.

In 2006, the local police visited Delashmit at her home, according to the Belleville News-Democrat, and informed her that her online deception was inappropriate — however, not illegal. They convinced her to return the quilt she had received from the SMA nonprofit, and no charges were filed.

What is Sarah Delashmit known for?

Despite getting caught in college, Delashmit continued to craft elaborate lies for the next 10-plus years. She feigned illnesses, disabilities, pregnancies and child loss. Delashmit garnered sympathy, support and services from several unknowing victims and groups.

In 2014, a workplace investigation at Oklahoma University Medical Center in Oklahoma City — where Delashmit worked as a staff nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit — revealed that she had faked two pregnancies, including one where she purported to have premature twins that died, per Elle.

As a result, Delashmit lost her nursing license in the state of Oklahoma. (Her nursing license was later suspended in Virginia and Illinois, and revoked in Missouri, according to the Belleville News-Democrat.)

During the fall of 2015 and spring of 2016, Delashmit attended Camp Summit in Dallas, which serves children and adults with disabilities. As a camper, she posed as a woman with muscular dystrophy, claiming to be paralyzed from the neck down and requiring the use of a motorized wheelchair. Delashmit — who received $2,500 in financial aid to attend the camp — had counselors provide her constant care, aiding her with eating, bathing and even changing her menstrual products.

However, during Delashmit’s second session at Camp Summit, a pastor from Illinois contacted the camp and alerted them that she was not disabled or paralyzed, per Sympathy Pains. When the pastor and several of Delashmit’s family members arrived at the camp to pick her up in an intervention of sorts, Delashmit simply stood up out of her wheelchair and left the camp, leaving the counselors and staff stunned.

Despite repeatedly getting exposed for her lies, Delashmit continued with her schemes. In 2018 and 2019, she pretended to have stage IV breast cancer and became involved with the Young Survival Coalition, a nonprofit that serves young adults with breast cancer.

During this time, Delashmit met and befriended Brian and Liz Hickox, telling them she not only had stage IV cancer, but that she also had a husband with PTSD, a 14-month-old daughter and a dangerous stalker. In March 2019, Delashmit claimed to the Hickoxes that her stalker had followed her to a Walmart in Highland and opened fire, shooting her and seven other people.

But when the Hickoxes, who live in Rhode Island and Florida, began to look for more information about the shooting in the news, they found nothing. It struck them as odd, so they reached out to a friend in law enforcement who confirmed that there was no shooting at an Illinois Walmart like Delashmit had claimed.

What happened when Sarah Delashmit appeared on Dr. Phil?

Upon discovering Delashmit had lied about the shooting, the Hickoxes started digging more into her past and uncovered several of her previous scams, the Belleville News-Democrat reported. Realizing that Delashmit may be dealing with mental health issues and require psychiatric care, the Hickoxes reached out to producers of the Dr. Phil show in an attempt to get her help.

Delashmit agreed to appear on the show, which was taped in March 2019 and aired a month later. The Hickoxes, as well as one of Delashmit’s caregivers from Camp Summit named Bethany Turner, were also interviewed by Dr. Phil about their experience with Delashmit’s cons.

On the show, Delashmit admitted to being dishonest about everything. “I have a lying addiction,” she said on Dr. Phil. “I can’t remember the last time I met someone and told them my real truth.”

Delashmit added, “If I can’t stop, it’s going to wreck my life.”

She apologized on Dr. Phil, telling the Hickoxes and Turner that she was “extremely sorry” for the lies she had concocted.

She also agreed to receive inpatient treatment at a facility in Calabasas, Calif., per Sympathy Pains. However, Delashmit left treatment within days and went right back to scamming.

What crimes was Sarah Delashmit charged with?

Upon discovering Delashmit had left treatment, Smith, Liz and Turner all contacted the Highland Police to alert them of her latest activities.

An investigation ensued that uncovered Delashmit had allegedly committed various instances of fraud in creating her elaborate lies, including ordering a bike off of eBay that she claimed never arrived and was refunded for, and receiving a donated bicycle and other cycling equipment from the Young Survival Coalition.

An FBI investigation also determined that Delashmit had allegedly received financial aid to attend Camp Summit (reportedly using another individual’s identity and Social Security benefit statements as proof of income), as well as a travel grant from the Young Survival Coalition for a trip to Florida.

She also was accused of using a stolen identity and credit card information to purchase a triathlon bicycle from eBay, before alleging it never arrived and collecting $4,500 as a refund, the Belleville News-Democrat reported. Delashmit was indicted in March 2020 on eight federal charges, including four counts of wire fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of mail fraud.

“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,” Liz said at one of Delashmit’s court hearings. “She’s a public menace … now that we understand the enormity of the situation, I want to see her brought to justice”

Delashmit initially entered a plea of not guilty in June 2020. However, that October, she changed course and pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, according to the Belleville News-Democrat. The identity theft charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement.

What was Sarah Delashmit’s sentence for her crimes?

Prosecutors initially recommended a sentence of eight months for Delashmit’s crimes, per the Belleville News-Democrat.

However, at Delashmit’s sentencing hearing in January 2021, U.S. District Court Judge Staci M. Yandle handed down a punishment that was more than double the prosecutors’ recommendation: 18 months in federal prison, with three years of court supervision after her release.

“Miss Delashmit deceived and manipulated individuals and families facing terminal illness and debilitating disorders, and nonprofit organizations and volunteers who serve those individuals,” Judge Yandle said at the sentencing hearing. “She accepted donations and allowed volunteers to care for her when she did not need or deserve that care. She took resources from those who did.”

In addition to her time behind bars, Delashmit was ordered to pay a $1,250 fine and $7,629 in restitution, as well as forfeit any of the items she received through her scheme.

Where is Sarah Delashmit now?

Delashmit served 11 months of her 18 month sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Greenville, Illinois, according to the Belleville News-Democrat.

During her time in prison, Delashmit reportedly learned to crochet and attended a Bible study group, per Sympathy Pains. She was released on March 4, 2022, Federal Bureau of Prison records list.

Little is known about Delashmit’s life since her release from prison. Despite her lack of an online presence, her former victims believe it is only a matter of time before Delashmit creates another con.

“I have no doubt that she will do this again, and any of her other victims or people who knew her personally would say the same thing,” Liz told the Bellevue News-Democrat in April 2022.