Prosecutors: Woman faked kidnapping, defrauded California
SACRAMENTO — A Northern California woman whose disappearance and mysterious reappearance made headlines five years ago was arrested Thursday on charges of lying to federal agents about being kidnapped and defrauding the state’s victim compensation board of $30,000.
“When a young mother went missing in broad daylight, a community was filled with fear and concern,” U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert said in a statement. “Ultimately, the investigation revealed that there was no kidnapping and that time and resources that could have been used to investigate actual crime, protect the community, and provide resources to victims were wasted.”
“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,” said Shasta County Sheriff Michael Johnson. Her blonde hair had been cut to shoulder length and she had a blurred “brand” burned into her right shoulder, authorities said at the time. Shasta County’s sheriff said the brand was “a message, not a symbol,” but he would not elaborate.