Prosecutors asking for Sherri Papini to be sentenced 8 months for 2016 kidnapping hoax

REDDING, Calif. -- Sherri Papini, the Northern California woman who faked her own kidnapping in 2016, should serve eight months in prison, prosecutors say.

Papini is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court Monday after agreeing to a plea deal earlier this year in the 2016 kidnapping hoax.

Prosecutors are also asking the court to make her pay more than $300,000 in restitution since she made money from GoFundMe accounts and state victims funds.

In November 2016, Papini disappeared from her family in Redding after going out for a jog. She was reported missing, setting off a nationwide search and a media frenzy.

When she reappeared on the side of a road in Yolo County more than three weeks later, she said two women had kept her captive in a closet.

Investigators found inconsistencies with her story and eventually determined the kidnapping was a hoax.

In reality, Papini had spent the time staying with an ex-boyfriend in Orange County.

Under the deal, Papini pleaded guilty in April to mail fraud and making false statements.

April 2022: Sherri Papini pleads guilty in kidnapping hoax

In addition to her sentencing, Papini also agreed to pay restitution topping $300,000, which includes the cost of the search for her that covered several Western states, and the subsequent investigation into the "two Hispanic women" she said had kidnapped her at gunpoint.