PAPINI PLEADS GUILTY TO LYING, AND DEFRAUDING GOVERNMENT
Redding woman required to pay more than $300,000 in restitution, faces up to 5 years in prison
Sherri Papini of Redding officially pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to lying to the FBI and defrauding federal, state and local officials out of more than $150,000 following her 2016 fake kidnapping.
Monday’s federal court hearing in Sacramento was just the latest chapter in a strange saga that began with her disappearance Nov. 2, 2016, while out jogging near her home north of Redding.
During the virtual court proceeding, she pleaded guilty to the two counts before U.S. District Court Judge William Shubb in Sacramento.
Prior to accepting Papini’s guilty pleas, Shubb asked her numerous questions about her background, her mental state, whether she has been treated for mental health issues, if she has taken medication for mental health and whether she understood the ramifications of pleading guilty.
“So how do you feel today?” the judge asked her.
“I feel very sad, your honor. I feel very sad,” Papini said, beginning to cry.
“Do you feel your mental condition is such that you are able to proceed with these proceedings this morning?” Shubb asked.
“Yes, your honor,” she said.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, she will be required to pay more than $300,000 in restitution to various government agencies.
The court proceedings mark an about-face in Papini’s story, which began when her husband, Keith Papini reported her missing Nov. 2, 2016.
The 39-year-old mother of two children turned up Thanksgiving morning, 22 days later, bound in chains and wandering alone along Interstate 5 north of Sacramento. She told law enforcement two Hispanic women kidnapped her at gunpoint while she was jogging.
She made up an elaborate story that the two women kept her confined, abused her, cut her hair and branded her.
Instead of being held captive by two women, she was holed up in a house in Orange County while law enforcement, family, friends and community members conducted a nationwide search to find her.
Even after the FBI confronted her with the evidence that she concocted the kidnapping scheme, she continued to lie to them, officials said in court documents.
But last week she admit
ted it was all a hoax.
As part of her admission, she signed an agreement to plead guilty to making false statements to the FBI about the kidnapping. She also admitted she lied to receive disability payments from the U.S. Social Security Administration.
She also said received money from the California Victims Compensation Board under false pretenses.
She released a statement last week through her lawyer, William Portanova of Sacramento, expressing remorse for her actions.
“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,” Papini said in her statement. “I will work the rest of my life to make amends for what I have done.”
The restitution breakdown includes repaying $30,694 to the California Victims Compensation board. She used a large chunk of that money to pay for therapy sessions to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety stemming from the “kidnapping,” according to court documents.
She received $127,567 in Social Security benefits that she will have to repay. She will also have to repay $148,866 to the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office for some of the costs of investigating her abduction.
She will also be required to pay $2,558 in restitution to the FBI.
The $49,000 her family and friends raised through a GoFundMe account was not included in the restitution amounts.
She faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 for making false statements to a federal law enforcement officer. She faces a maximum statutory penalty of 25 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 for the count of mail fraud, federal officials said.
Prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence on the low end of the sentencing range, estimated to be between eight and 14 months in custody for the two charges.
Sentencing was set for 9 a.m. July 11 in federal district court in Sacramento.
Damon Arthur is the Redding Record Searchlight’s resources and environment reporter. He is part of a team of journalists who investigate wrongdoing and find the unheard voices to tell the stories of the North State. He welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834 by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on Twitter at @damonarthur_RS.