CA Mother Accused Of Lying About Abduction, Officials Say

SACRAMENTO, CA — A California mother was arrested after investigators said she faked her own abduction and defrauded the state out of more than $30,000 in victim assistance funds, officials said this week.

Redding resident Sherri Papini, 39, was reported missing on in 2016, triggering a massive search effort extended throughout Shasta County, California and several other states, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of California.

Several weeks later, Papini was found along Interstate 5 in Yolo County with various bindings on her body and injuries including a branding mark on her shoulder. She described her captors as Hispanic women who kidnapped her at gunpoint and held her against her will, leading authorities on an unsuccessful search. Investigators later determined that Papini had fabricated the story.

Papini, authorities said, had actually been staying with a former boyfriend and "harmed herself to support her false statements," according to the statement from the U.S. attorney's office.

Paint is facing the possibility of up to 20 years in prison if she's convicted and up to five years if she's convicted of lying to federal law enforcement. She would also be fined $250,000 for each fine.

“When a young mother went missing in broad daylight, a community was filled with fear and concern,” said U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert. “Shasta County Sheriff’s Office immediately began investigating, calling on the assistance of the FBI. Countless hours were spent following leads, all in an effort to bring this woman back to her family.

"Ultimately, the investigation revealed that there was no kidnapping and that time and resources that could have been used to investigate actual crime, protect the community, and provide resources to victims were wasted based on the defendant’s conduct,” Talbert said.

Papini faces charges making false statements to law enforcement and engaging in mail fraud, according to the statement.