Phillips, a self-described hard-core gambler, was hired by ESPN in August of 2011 to write for its Page 2, now known as Playbook, after getting exposure for her work at the gambling site Covers.com.
The report published by Deadspin claims that Phillips and her partner, Nilesh 'Nick' Prasad, received thousands of dollars from two men identified as 'Ben' and 'Matt.' The article also raised the possibility that the name 'Sarah Phillips' may be an alias.
According to the story, 19-year-old 'Ben' was the founder of the Facebook page NBA Memes. Phillips recruited him for a business partnership, promising major returns, but then she and Prasad allegedly scammed 'Ben' into giving them the administrator rights to his page.
Within days, the duo deleted 'Ben's' name from the list of administrators and took over the memes page, turning it into a getaway page to their own site, according to Deadspin.
Deadspin also claims that Prasad misrepresented himself to 'Ben,' falsely claiming that he was the managing director of ESPN.com.
Meanwhile, 'Matt,' a Covers reader in his 30s who corresponded with Phillips, told Deadspin that he began working with the writer on her proposed start-up site and agreed to give her $2,100 to help her buy ad space.
Later, 'Matt' said, Phillips began harassing him and demanding more money. At one point, Phillips allegedly threatened to have the Los Angeles Police Department 'rob' him to recoup $3,000 she said she lost on a bet she placed on 'Matt's' advice.
'I told her I don't carry cash and kept a hunting knife by my bed for three weeks,' 'Matt' told Deadspin.
Phillips' meteoric ascent to online sports reporting stardom has long been raising doubts about her identity and credentials among readers, doubts which were only exacerbated by the wide variety of photos Phillips posted of herself.
According to Deadspin, Phillips used images of other women which she claimed depicted her.
The photo of a blonde woman Phillips used in her Covers debut article has later been identified by some as Ivy Smith, a hairdresser from Eugene, Oregon.
The Ivy Smith MySpace profile shows a girl who went to Sheldon High School in Oregon between 2001 and 2005. However, it appears that the 'real' Phillips also has a link to Oregon.
According to the site the Sports Brewery, Phillips is a 2007 graduate of Sheldon High School, where she played soccer and basketball. Some online reports have suggested that Phillips' alleged accomplice, Prasad, also graduated from the same school, but three years earlier.
The photos of a young Sarah Phillips from Oregon also appear to match the photos that accompany the Sarah Phillips Twitter and ESPN Page 2 profiles.
On Tuesday, after ESPN released a brief statement announcement that it had ended its relationship with Phillips, the woman wrote a series of posts on her Twitter account, saying that she made poor choices and concealed her identity.
Phillips, however, declined to directly address the allegations against her or shed light on her true identity.
'I need to get back to being a 22-year-old,' she wrote.
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