Sherri Papini, the California mother of two who was accused of perpetuating a kidnapping hoax in 2016, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for the purported scheme and lying about it, according to multiple reports.
Dubbed the “super mom,” Papini entered a plea agreement earlier this year and has been ordered to pay over $300,000 in restitution. She will also face 36 months of supervised probation upon release and is expected to turn herself over to authorities on Nov. 8, the Independent reported.
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“An entire community believed the hoax and lived in fear that Hispanic women were roving the streets to abduct and sell women,” prosecutors said, per NBC. “She maintained her hoax and received Social Security and California Victims’ benefits for years, demonstrating that she had no remorse for her actions even after the FBI presented her with evidence of her fraud.”
Papini’s sentence is considerably higher than the eight months in prison prosecutors recommended, NBC reported. She pleaded guilty to mail fraud and lying to a law enforcement officer back in April. She had been facing a 35-count indictment.
Papini was reported missing in November 2016 before reappearing three weeks later just shy of 150 miles south of where she disappeared, NBC reported. She was found with injuries that authorities now suspect were self-inflicted.
The alleged hoax cost the Social Security Administration over $127,000 and the California Victim Compensation Board over $30,000, per People Magazine. She is also ordered to pay $148,866 to the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office and $2,558 to the FBI, according to the report.
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She claimed that two Hispanic women kidnapped her, but investigators discovered male DNA on her clothing, which led them to the home of her ex-boyfriend, where she stayed during the hoax, per the report. Her ex-boyfriend claimed he refused her requests to hit her but branded her when she asked, according to court documents.
After being discovered, Papini refused to cooperate with investigators and stood by her claims long after they began to unravel until she entered the guilty plea. She was arrested in March 2022 for the alleged scheme.
