Sherri Papini Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Kidnapping Hoax

Mar. 15, 2025

Sherri Papini, the California mom who claimed to have been abducted at gunpoint but later admitted it was a hoax, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced in a statement Monday.

But after investigating her purported kidnapping, authorities found that Papini had fabricated the incident and had been hiding out with an ex-boyfriend in Southern California.

According to the statement from Talbert, Papini will have to pay back 309,902 in restitution to the California Victim Compensation Board, the Social Security Administration, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI forlosses incurred because of her lies.

Sherri and Keith Papini.

“Not only did Papini lie to law enforcement, her friends, and her family, she also made false statements to the California Victim Compensation Board and the Social Security Administration in order to receive benefits as a result of her alleged ‘post-traumatic stress’ from being abducted,” the statement says.

Last week, in a sentencing memorandum filed in court, Papini’s attorney William Portanova urged the court to follow the recommendation of the United States Probation Office and sentence Papini to one month in custody and seven months of home detention.

Sherri Papini pleaded guilty in April, 2022.Rich Pedroncelli/instagram

“Her name is now synonymous with this awful hoax,” he added. “There is no escaping it. There is only the hard work of moving forward, however slowly, towards a balanced, open, and honest life. There seems to be little or no chance for Sherri to go backwards now. The lies are out, the guilt admitted, the shame universally seen.”

“It is hard to imagine a more brutal public revelation of a person’s broken inner self. At this point, the punishment is already intense and feels like a life sentence.”

Portanova wrote that Papini’s “painful early years twisted and froze her in myriad ways.”

“Outwardly sweet and loving, yet capable of intense deceit, whether for purposes of situational control or emotional self-protection, Ms. Papini’s chameleonic personality drove her to simultaneously crave family security and the freedom of youth,” he wrote. “While these are not unique feelings, in her they were pathological. Her life was painful until she married and began a family of her own. Yet after several years, she persuaded herself to flee the security of her family in pursuit of a non-sensical fantasy ultimately resulting in this awful case.”

Andrew Seng/The Sacramento Bee via AP

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“Papini planned and executed a sophisticated kidnapping hoax, and then continued to perpetuate her false statements for years after her return without regard for the harm she caused others,” U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert wrote. “As a result, state and federal investigators devoted limited resources to Papini’s case for nearly four years before they independently learned the truth: that she was not kidnapped or tortured. Papini caused innocent individuals to become targets of a criminal investigation. She left the public in fear of her alleged Hispanic capturers who purportedly remained at large.”

FBI.

Talbert wrote that the sentence would “provide just punishment, deter further crimes, and promote respect for the law.”

In a statement to PEOPLE after Sherri’s sentencing, Keith said, “The events of the past two months have been shocking and devastating. My current focus is on moving on and doing everything I can to provide my two children with as normal, healthy and happy of a life as possible.”

Sherri and Keith Papini.Courtesy Keith Papini

During sentencing, U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb called Papini a “manipulator.”

“People don’t like to be conned,” he said, addressing Papini, theSacramento Beereported. “And I don’t believe those people who were deceived would believe that one month or eight months is sufficient.”

Shubb said the longer sentence was meant to deter others from committing similar crimes.

“If I get away with it, I’ll get $49,000,” he said. “If I don’t get away with it, I’ll spend one month or eight months…We have to send a message that crime doesn’t pay.”

In a handwritten statement before her sentence was handed down, Papini apologized for her behavior.\

“I am guilty of lying and dishonor. I trust in this court … and I trust in you,” she said. “What was done cannot be undone. I am choosing to humbly accept all responsibility.”

Papini must report to prison on Nov. 8.

source: people.com