Article content
A California mother who was accused of orchestrating her own kidnapping back in 2016 has signed a plea deal.
Article content
Sherri Papini, who could have been given 25 years in prison if convicted of the charges of making false statements to a federal law enforcement officer and mail fraud, signed the agreement Tuesday morning in which she will plead guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of making a false statement, US Attorney Phillip A. Talbert said, according to the new york post.
“I am deeply ashamed of myself for my behavior and so sorry for the pain I’ve caused my family, my friends, all the good people who needlessly suffered because of my story and those who worked so hard to try to help me,” Papini said in a statement to the post sent through her attorney, William Portanova.
“I will work the rest of my life to make amends for what I have done.”
Article content
Papini had been out on a $120,000 bond.
She faces a maximum of five years in prison on the count of making false statements and 20 years for the mail fraud charge, the Eastern District of California US Attorney’s office said.
“The actual sentence … will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables,” the office said in a statement.
Papini, 39, of Redding, was arrested on March 3 after prosecutors said the mother of two lied when she told investigators that she was kidnapped at gunpoint by two Hispanic women, and even provided a false description to an FBI sketch artist.
She also told investigators the women beat her up, chopped up her blond hair and played mariachi music in the vehicle before she was finally set free on Thanksgiving in 2016.
Police said Papini fabricated the entire story and was instead staying at an apartment in Costa Mesa, Calif. with her ex-boyfriend of hers, James Reyes.