A 39-year-old woman whose supposed kidnapping set off massive searches around California and other states now faces federal charges for allegedly lying to officials about her abduction.
On Thursday, March 3, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California said in a statement Sherri Papini was arrested and charged with making false statements to a federal law enforcement officer and engaging in mail fraud.
According to the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, Papini was reported missing on Nov. 2, 2016, after her husband came home and saw neither she nor their children were at home. He reportedly found out his children were still at day care and used the Find My iPhone app to locate his wife’s cellphone near the intersection of Sunrise Drive and Old Oregon Trail. She was found a little over three weeks later, on Nov. 26, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office probable cause affidavit says Papini was found on Interstate 5 in Yolo County with “a chain around her waist that one arm was bound to, with additional bindings around her other wrist and each ankle.” She had reportedly lost a lot of weight, had her hair cut short, and was branded on her right shoulder.
When speaking with agents, Papini described being kidnapped by two Hispanic women and shared vivid details about their appearances. Throughout the investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office says agents came to the conclusion “that this was a false narrative Papini fabricated.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges Papini “had been voluntarily staying with a former boyfriend in Costa Mesa and had harmed herself to support her false statements.”
Papini reportedly had the California Victim’s Compensation Board pay her over $30,000, which included costs for therapy and transportation via ambulance.
Shasta County Sheriff Michael Johnson said in the statement, “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. 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.”
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, if convicted, Papini could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 maximum fine for the charge of making false statements to a federal law enforcement officer. She could also face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for mail fraud.
C’mon man! Since when was lying to the FBI a punishable crime? C’mon man! Robert Müeller, Jim Comey, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Christopher Wray, Rob Rosenstein, Michael Horowitz, John Durham, Bill Barr, and Andrew McCabe have ushered in the new level of competency, integrity,honesty, transparency and trust to the FBI and the Department of Justice. BTW, How is the Hunter laptop investigation working. Have they lost it yet?
So she was playing hide the salami with an old boyfriend and didn’t want her husband to find out.
Why didn’t she just tell her husband she was leaving and then go? But instead, she chose to put her family through all of this anguish instead. Nice. Sounds like they will be much better off without her.
Lying to the fbi is a crime ????? Then how about members of the fbi,cia,doj,dhs,nia,cdc lying to the President and congress — is that a crime also ??? In fact how about members of congress lying daily for 4 years to congressional committees, the President and the American people — is that a crime also. This unfaithful female costing the state of California thousands sounds like pitence when you figure how much the democrats phony “russian hoax” with muellers $35 million dollar bill, the democrats 2 phony impeachments tying up congress for 4 years — what kind of price tag is laid on that ?? Members of these agencies have been sooooo very corrupt since clinton was in office and it escalated 10 fold under obama — lying has become the norm and honesty is nowhere to be found.