Just recently, Sherri Papini, who back in 2016 made the claim that she had been kidnapped by a pair of Hispanic women who held her prisoner at gunpoint and “branded” her, has officially pleaded guilty to lying to federal officers and mail fraud, ultimately admitting that she created and perpetuated a hoax.
In a release, her attorney stated that Papini signed off on a plea agreement this past Tuesday, but as of writing the details of said plea agreement are still quite unclear. Papini stated her remorse in a release that went out on Wednesday.
“I am deeply ashamed of myself for my behavior and so sorry for the pain I’ve caused my family, my friends, all the good people who needlessly suffered because of my story and those who worked so hard to try to help me,” claimed Papini in a statement put out via her attorney, William Portanova, as reported by People. “I will work the rest of my life to make amends for what I have done.”
For a total of three weeks back in November of 2016, Papini led the entire country to believe she had been kidnapped, sparking a massive search across the nation that even brought in the FBI. Papini, aged 39, lied and made up the entire kidnapping plot and spent the entire ordeal sitting in an ex-boyfriend’s house, reported police officials in March. Police also stated at the time that Papini had been taken into custody back in 2020 for lying to the investigators in the wake of being shown evidence that she had made the kidnapping story up and severely defrauded the state of California of well over $30,000 in victim assistance, read a report from NBC News.
After a period of three weeks since she vanished, she was discovered on the side of a freeway in Yolo County with a chain wrapped around her waist and a “brand” on her shoulder, which she stated had been burned onto her by her alleged kidnappers.
“In truth, Papini had been voluntarily staying with a former boyfriend in Costa Mesa and had harmed herself to support her false statements,” stated the U.S. attorney’s office via a press release.
Originally, Papini stated to investigators that a pair of Hispanic women were the ones who kept her captive at gunpoint and even worked alongside an FBI sketch artist to create some images of the two women, which were actually used in the hunt for the kidnappers. It was DNA discovered on her clothing that would result in the entire unraveling of her story. DNA had been found and stored in a database that was frequently checked, reported NBC. It was this sample DNA that allowed investigators to find Papini’s ex-boyfriend.
When put through questioning, the ex-boyfriend, who has not received any charges and has thus far not been named, stated to the investigators that Papini had pleaded with him that she needed help and to get away, so he agreed to go out and pick her up in Redding, California, and let her stay with him the whole time she was supposedly missing, stated a series of FBI documents. The ex-boyfriend claimed to investigators that he had no clue what Papini’s “final plan was” or if the ordeal meant they were getting back together.
The ex also stated that Papini forced him to brand her using a wood-burning tool and eventually made him drive her back to an area in Northern California.
“Investigators say the ex-boyfriend’s story was corroborated with car rental receipts and phone records, and the ex-boyfriend knew details not known to the public,” stated NBC. “The ex-boyfriend told investigators he initially thought he was just helping a friend, but after seeing the news about the later kidnapping claims he got worried, according to the affidavit.”
The ex did not proactively seek out police officials when he discovered the fake kidnapping, but stated that when investigators came he planned to fully cooperate.