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'Kidnap victim' Sherri Papini allegedly faked abduction, FBI says

The family of a Northern California woman whose 2016 disappearance triggered an intensive search and international headlines on Friday criticised the way she was arrested on charges she faked her own kidnapping.

Sherri Papini, 39, of Redding, was “ambushed” in front of her children Thursday afternoon, according to her family.

She spent the night in the Sacramento County jail on charges of mail fraud and lying to a federal agent, and at a Friday afternoon court appearance was ordered detained as a danger and flight risk.

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Papini disappeared while jogging in 2016. She turned up three weeks later, on Thanksgiving Day, alongside a highway about 240km from her home. She had a “brand” on her right shoulder along with burns and bruises.

She described in great detail to police her abduction at gunpoint and abusive treatment by two “Hispanic women,” triggering a hunt for her abductors. It was all a lie, authorities said on Thursday. She actually was with a former boyfriend in Southern California, they said, and beat herself up to support her fabrication.

Her family's statement did not address the veracity of the charges but said the family is ”confused by several aspects" of the counts. They also criticised how she was taken into custody.

“We love Sherri and are appalled by the way in which law enforcement ambushed her (Thursday) afternoon in a dramatic and unnecessary manner in front of her children," the family said in the statement released through a publicist.

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She would have come to the police station if asked, the family said, “where this could have been handled in a more appropriate way.”

Papini and her husband, Keith, have cooperated with investigators' requests, the family said, “despite repeated attempts to unnecessarily pit them against each other, empty threats to publicly embarrass them and other conduct that was less than professional.”

Her attorney, Michael Borges, did not immediately respond to telephone and email messages seeking comment after her initial court appearance Friday. Papini is due back in court Tuesday for a hearing to determine if she can be released from custody.

The FBI and US attorney's office in Sacramento declined to comment, while the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately comment but previously said it would have nothing more to say now that charges have been filed. All three agencies investigated the case.

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Sherri Papini was found branded, beaten and chained on the side of the road after 22 days in captivity. (Shasta County Sheriff's Office)

Papini is charged with lying to a federal agent as recently as August 2020, when authorities said they confronted her with evidence that she had made up her story and warned her that lying was a crime.

The mail fraud charge relates to the more than $40,000 she was reimbursed by the California Victim’s Compensation Board, including therapy “for anxiety and PTSD,” according to a court filing.

It carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, while lying to a federal officer has a maximum five-year sentence.

A 55-page court affidavit supporting her charges says a GoFundMe campaign raised more than $66,000 to help the family. No charges are related to that money, which investigators say the couple used to pay off bills and for other expenses.

Police revealed Ms Papini had been involved in a texting relationship with a man before her disappearance.