GUILTY CA - Sherri Papini, 34, Redding, fake abduction Nov 2016, ARREST MAR 2022 #25

[MajorHoople]

California woman who claimed she was kidnapped for 22 days by two Hispanic women in 2016 arrested | Daily Mail Online

"California mom Sherri Papini who claimed she was kidnapped for 22 days by two Hispanic women in 2016, has been arrested for faking her abduction.

On Thursday prosecutors charged 'supermom' Papini, 39, for lying to federal agents about being kidnapped and defrauding the state's victim compensation board of $30,000.

The mother-of-two was found on Thanksgiving Day in 2016 after weeks of searching in California and several nearby states 22 days after she disappeared while jogging on November 2."

"In reality, authorities said, she was staying with a former boyfriend nearly 600 miles away from her home in Orange County, in Southern California, and hurt herself to back up her false statements."

 

[Cascadia Mount]

I remember this case for some reason, it seemed so clear that something was off but the family just slipped out of sight.

 

[ivegotthemic]

@RANCH thanks for providing the Criminal Complaint. Just read through it now.

Whatever the ex-boyfriend believed at first, once he was aware that she was a missing person, is there a crime he committed by not informing LE? I know she wasn’t a fugitive so he wasn’t guilty of harboring one, and she’s an adult, but it doesn’t seem right that he could just allow her to stay there while knowing she was considered missing.

Morally wrong I know, but criminally, I’m unsure.

However, he admitted to branding her since she wanted him to, and I cannot understand any thinking adult who would go along with that.

Its absolutely morally wrong, but his acts weren't criminal. Adults have the right to disappear and start a new life elsewhere if they want too and they have no legal obligation to tell anyone if their life that their leaving, thus there was no duty for him to tell police she was there.

It became a crime when she lied to presented them with false evidence. (misdemeanor, normal punishment small fine, so very rarely charged because prosecutors dont have time to focus on it)

that being said she was only offered support payments because they thought she was a kidnapping victim. accepting the payments on a known lie is fraud. she can be held liable:
criminally (pushishment with potential jail time) and
civilally (court can order her to pay back the money she accepted)

 

[ZoriahNZ]

Since someone asked upthread, it says in the criminal complaint that SP asked her ex-boyfriend to drive all the way to Redding to pick her up. It's a six hour or so drive from where he lives.

What a tale she spun about how the husband was abusing/SAing her. I hope for his sake that he has since divorced her and has custody of the children now.

 

[verbonica]

Since someone asked upthread, it says in the criminal complaint that SP asked her ex-boyfriend to drive all the way to Redding to pick her up. It's a six hour or so drive from where he lives.

What a tale she spun about how the husband was abusing/SAing her. I hope for his sake that he has since divorced her and has custody of the children now.

It's actually over a 9-hour drive up to Redding from Costa Mesa, but for the return trip when he dropped her off in Woodland, CA, that's around 7 hours. In the Criminal Complaint it said that he went to Thanksgiving Dinner at 11:00 a.m. (or 12:00) in San Pedro after dropping her off. It's irrelevant to the case, I suppose, but how could he do that after driving 7 hours north and 7 hours to return south?!

 

[LostOldUserName]

I am glad that she has been charged! I followed this from the beginning and had always thought her story was off.

 

[Tortoise]

Yes I noticed that too! But in other parts they use just husband. 'Husband thought the earphones had been placed" etc

On Page 3 - statement of probable cause - it says "Papini's then husband ("Husband") reported his wife Papini missing..." .

This means that they would refer to him as "Husband" from that point onwards in the document.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/press-release/file/1479901/download

 

[Hazelnutty]

Oh wow. I didn't think she would ever be arrested.

Justice finally came knocking

 

[Kemug]

Great Scott! It's so long since I popped in here that I had almost forgotten all about it. Just remembered today, and thought I'd see if anything is happening! I had never been able to quite make up my mind about our heroine. I didn't quite believe her, but any alternative seemed too weird. Well, now we know.

 

[Kemug]

I wonder if hubby didn't know at first, but perhaps later she confessed to him and pleaded for forgiveness, etc. It might be hard to resist the pretty little wife that you adore.

 

[BrownRice]

Late to the party here! Great news to wake up to! Probably like many of us, I laughed out loud when I saw the news. I mean of course she made it up. We knew that! I’m impressed law enforcement kept at it. They must have been hell bent on solving this, knowing she was lying.

I’ll be spending my Friday night reading the complaint!

 

[Cascadia Mount]

I am glad that she has been charged! I followed this from the beginning and had always thought her story was off.

Same here. The story just disappeared and when I saw the headline I was amazed at how much I remembered. Yay for Websleuths1

 

[Twolabs]

Finally!

 

[Sheila Terranova]

Is she divorced?
Personally I am thrilled the police didn’t give her a pass.
Fake abuse claims give genuinely abused women a bad name, and less credibility, which can be life threatening.
Plus it’s a waste of time for the detectives.

 

[spangled]

I'm glad she's been arrested, although she must be mentally unwell - surely nobody is that hungry for attention. What a shocking waste of time and resources, and absolutely appalling thing to put her family and friends through.

The part about the credit cards being paid off with the fund is particularly distasteful.

My thoughts are with her children and ex.

 

[GatorFL]

I guess maybe the statute of limitations is coming up so they charged her now? Anybody know?

 

[zecats]

I'm glad she's finally been outed and the public now has the facts behind this incident. I confess to believing it while it was happening, and remember being so fearful for her. After she was miraculously recovered, the tale certainly turned to the strange side. Hating to doubt the validity just because it was strange, I left it open in my mind, and also was grateful she was safe. Now, the whole episode infuriates me, and I'm definitely more relieved the truth is finally out there. What a bizarre, distasteful, and criminal scam. moo

 

[iluvmua]

I hope her husband divorced her because it sounds like she was having multiple affairs from what the document said.

Not to mention, she sounds seriously crazy.

 

[DizzyB]

Remember the sketches of the Hispanic kidnapers, whose bandanas looked remarkably like Sherri’s own Halloween bandit costume photos? Her kicking in the door and her family calling the police on her as a teen. Girl was just one big red flag.

 

[cady]

I hope her husband divorced her because it sounds like she was having multiple affairs from what the document said.

Not to mention, she sounds seriously crazy.

I hope that he alone was awarded custody of their children, although, he was a pretty strange character, himself. Didn't he have the house wired with alarms and cameras? Those poor kids....jmo