A judge in California has sentenced Sherri Papini to 18 months in prison for faking her own abduction in 2016.
According to the US Justice Department, the 40-year-old’s hoax was exposed due to the advancement in technology.
After Papini pleaded guilty in April to mail fraud and making false statements, 36 months of supervised release was added to her punishment.
While the defence asked for one month in custody and seven months of home detention, prosecutors asked the judge to sentence her to eight months in prison.
Six years ago, Papini claimed two Spanish-speaking women abducted and tortured her when she went out for a jog near her Shasta County home in Northern California.
As a result, she received more than $30,000 from the state in victim compensation funds and the authorities carried out an extensive search for the supposed Hispanic captors.
After coming up empty for several years, the authorities connected DNA from her clothing to an ex-boyfriend using the technology known as genetic genealogy.
According to a 55-page affidavit released earlier this year, investigators then took DNA from the ex-boyfriend to confirm him as a match.
It states that he admitted he helped Papini “run away” from what she described as an abusive relationship.
When detained and questioned, he confessed that the supposed kidnapping was a hoax and the federal prosecutors said that it wasted resources and caused police to investigate innocent targets.
In a filing, prosecutors said, “Papini planned and executed a sophisticated kidnapping hoax, and then continued to perpetuate her false statements for years after her return without regard for the harm she caused others.”
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