California woman charged over faking own kidnapping, lying to FBI

According to the Department of Justice, 39-year-old Sheri Papini of Redding, California, was arrested on charges of making false statements to a federal law enforcement officer and engaging in mail fraud.

On Nov. 2, 2016, Papini was reported missing, and extensive searches were conducted looking for her in California and other states.

On Nov. 24, 2016, she was found alive in Yolo County, with various bindings on her body and injuries including a "brand" on her right shoulder.

At the time, Papini told officers that she had been abducted and held hostage by two Hispanic woman at gunpoint, and provided details of her alleged captors to an FBI sketch artist.

The investigation eventually showed though that Papini had fabricated this narrative, and had instead been voluntarily staying at her boyfriend’s house in Costa Mesa, and harmed herself to support her false statements.

In an August 2020 interview with a federal agent and a Shasta County Sheriff’s Office detective, Papini was warned that it was a crime to lie to federal agents, and was presented with evidence that showed she had not been abducted.

"Instead of retracting her kidnapping story, Papini continued to make false statements about her purported abductors," the Department of Justice reported.

In addition to the false statements, Papini had received a number of payments through the California Victim’s Compensation Board to pay victim assistance money based on her kidnapping story, the DOJ said.

Between 2017 and 2021, Papini received 35 payments totaling over $30,000 in victim assistance for things that included therapist visits and an ambulance ride to the hospital after she was found, according to the DOJ.

"When a young mother went missing in broad daylight, a community was filled with fear and concern. 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," said US Attorney Phillip A. Talbert in the DOJ press release.

"Three weeks later, she was found 146 miles south of where she disappeared, and the focus went from trying to find her to trying to find her abductors. 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," he added in the statement.

"This case exemplifies the FBI’s commitment to working tirelessly with law enforcement partners and prosecutors to examine all facts and seek the truth, no matter how long that process takes or how complex the analysis may be," said Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the FBI Sacramento Field Office.

"We are grateful for the dedication of the agents, investigators, lab technicians, professional staff, and prosecutors who aided our collaborative fact-finding efforts. We are relieved that the community is not endangered by unknown, violent kidnappers, and thank the public and media for their patience and strong support for this case since the initial reports of Sherri Papini’s disappearance," he continued.

If convicted of making false statements, Papini faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.

If convicted of mail fraud, she faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.

"Everyone involved in this investigation had one common goal; to find the truth about what happened on Nov. 2, 2016 with Sherri Papini and who was responsible," said Shasta County Sheriff Michael L. Johnson. "The 22-day search for Sherri Papini and subsequent five-year search into who reportedly abducted her was not only taxing on public resources but caused the general public to be fearful of their own safety, a fear that they should not have had to endure. The Sheriff’s Office has appreciated the support and patience from the citizens of Shasta County and abroad."