The disappearance of 39-year-old Papini in early November 2016 sparked a three-week investigation. She was found on Thanksgiving with various injuries that included a swollen nose and a “mark” on her right shoulder. But according to authorities, she was actually living with an ex-boyfriend, about 600 miles from her home in Orange County, California. They claim that Papini caused the injuries to herself in order to try to support the false story of the abduction. “I am deeply ashamed of myself for my behavior and I am very sorry for the pain I caused to my family, my friends, all the good people who suffered unnecessarily because of my story and those who worked so hard to help me. . Papini said in a statement released by her lawyer: “I will work the rest of my life to make up for what I have done.” Sherri Papini in 2016. CBS News Defense attorney William Portanova told the Associated Press he was not sure why his client did what she did. “I honestly do not know if anyone knows. I do not know if he knows,” he said. “In my opinion it is a very complex mental health condition, but it has to be tackled and tackled – and that includes acceptance and acceptance and punishment,” Portanova said. He said no treatment was required under the agreement, but “counseling is part of her daily routine and will continue to be so.” The agreement on the objection requires Papini to pay compensation in excess of $ 300,000. That includes $ 30,694 in the California Victims Compensation Council, which reimbursed her for things like visits to her therapist for “treatment for anxiety and PTSD” and an ambulance ride to the hospital after she showed up near Sacramento. He will also pay Shasta County Sheriff’s office nearly $ 149,000 and the FBI more than $ 2,500 in expenses during the investigation. He also owes the Social Security Administration at least $ 127,568. The Sacramento Bee initially said Papini had reached an agreement on an objection. The charges carry sentences of up to five years in federal prison for lying to a federal law enforcement officer and up to 20 years for mail fraud. Prosecutors agreed under the objection agreement to propose a sentence at the lower end of the sentence, which is estimated to be between eight and 14 months for Papini. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento filed modified charges Tuesday for 34 counts of mail fraud and one count of false statements. But Papini agreed to plead guilty to just one count of mail fraud and one count of false statements. She is scheduled to stand trial on Wednesday on Wednesday and will likely plead guilty next week, Portanova said. Papini was reported missing on November 2, 2016. She was found next to Interstate 5, almost 150 miles from her home, beaten and with bundles left on her wrists and ankles. He later told authorities he had been abducted at gunpoint by two Hispanic women and provided descriptions to an FBI cartoonist along with extensive details about her alleged abduction. She was still making false statements until August 2020, when prosecutors said a federal agent and a Shasta County Sheriff’s Detective showed evidence she had not been abducted and warned her it was a crime to lie to an accomplice. A GoFundMe campaign raised more than $ 49,000 to help the family, which the couple used to pay the bills and other expenses, according to court testimony from investigators. At that time she was a mom who lived at home and her husband worked at Best Buy. The family was not wealthy and there was never a demand for ransom, officials said at the time. She had been jogging that day near her home about 215 miles north of San Francisco. Her husband, Keith Papini, found only her cell phone and headphones when she searched, as she failed to pick up their children at daycare. She left her bag and jewelry behind. He underwent a lie detector test, the researchers said. Papini had both male and female DNA on her body and clothes when she was found and the DNA eventually led to her ex-boyfriend, prosecutors said. The ex-boyfriend told investigators that Papini stayed with him while he was away and asked him to come to Redding to pick her up. Authorities verified his account by tracking two prepaid cell phones they had been using to talk secretly to each other since December 2015, according to the court’s testimony. An ex-boyfriend’s cousin also told investigators that he saw Papini, unrestrained, in the man’s apartment twice. Records also claimed the ex-boyfriend’s story that he rented a car and drove Papini back to Northern California about three weeks later.
