Sherri Papini (hoax)
Sherri Papini was convicted of faking her own kidnapping in 2016. She had claimed she was abducted while jogging and tortured by two Hispanic women. She had actually been staying with an ex-boyfriend.
In November 2016, Sherri Papini, a mother of two from Redding, California, disappeared while jogging. She reappeared 22 days later on Thanksgiving Day, bound and branded, claiming two Hispanic women had kidnapped and tortured her.
Papini's story generated massive media coverage and public sympathy. She was labeled a 'supermom' who had been taken from her family. Law enforcement spent thousands of hours investigating.
In 2020, DNA evidence led investigators to James Reyes, an ex-boyfriend. He revealed that Papini had stayed with him voluntarily. She had inflicted her own injuries and branded herself.
Papini was arrested in 2022 and pleaded guilty to lying to federal agents and mail fraud. She was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison. The case diverted resources from real missing persons cases.
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