SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sherri Papini, the Northern California woman who was arrested on charges of lying to federal agents about her mysterious 2016 kidnapping, has signed a plea deal admitting her kidnapping was a hoax.
A news release from the U.S Department of Justice says, "Papini agreed to plead guilty to a single count of mail fraud and one count of making false statements."
The 39-year-old mother and wife from Redding issued a statement through her attorney, apologizing for the pain she caused her loved ones.
"I am deeply ashamed of myself for my behavior and so very 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. I will work the rest of my life to make amends for what I have done," Papini said in a statement.
Papini's name made headlines after her disappearance and mysterious reappearance set off a frantic three-week search in 2016. After weeks of searching in California and several nearby states, she was found on Thanksgiving Day with bindings on her body and injuries.
At the time of her disappearance, Papini told authorities that she was kidnapped at gunpoint by two Hispanic women and even provided descriptions to an FBI sketch artist along with extensive details of her purported abduction.
However, authorities said she was actually staying with a former boyfriend nearly 600 miles away from her home in Orange County, in Southern California, and hurt herself to back up her false statements.
Papini was arrested on March 3, 2022, on accusations of lying to federal agents about being kidnapped and defrauding the state's victim compensation board of $30,000.
As part of the plea deal, prosecutors will not bring up charges that Papini also defrauded the Social Security Administration. The two charges of mail fraud and lying to federal agents carry a maximum total of 25 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 each.
Papini also waives her right to trial by jury and is ordered to pay restitution to all her victims. It includes at least $308,000 to the California Victim Compensation Board, Shasta County Sheriff's office, Federal Bureau of Investigations and Social Security Administration
Read the plea agreement in the PDF below.
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