Sherri Papini admits to faking 2016 kidnapping

The Associated Press

3 years ago

FILE - In this Nov. 10, 2016, file photo, a "missing" sign for Redding, Calif., resident Sherri Papini is seen near the location where the mother of two is initially believed to have gone missing while jogging. In March 2022, Papini was arrested on charges of faking her own kidnapping in 2016. She signed a plea deal on Tuesday, April 12, 2022 , in which she will plead guilty of lying to a federal officer and mail fraud, her attorney, William Portanova, first told The Sacrament Bee. (Andrew Seng/The Sacramento Bee via AP, File)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California woman is admitting that she faked her own kidnapping more than five years ago.

The search for 39-year-old Sherri Papini of Redding set off a three-week search until she resurfaced on Thanksgiving Day in 2016.

But federal prosecutors alleged in early March that she actually was staying with a former boyfriend nearly 600 miles away in Southern California. They said she injured herself to back up her false statements.

Her attorney, William Portanova, confirmed that she signed a plea agreement Tuesday.

A spokesperson for federal prosecutors couldn’t confirm the plea deal until something is on the public record.