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Northern California mom Sherri Papini, who was released from federal prison in August after a kidnapping hoax that triggered a national media blitz and costly multi-state search, has failed to pay over $300,000 in restitution and now faces wage garnishment, according to court records.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin Tubesing filed an application for a writ of garnishment in the amount of $340,221 against Papini and Redding, California-based Kinney & Kinney Attorneys at Law, the firm representing her in a divorce proceeding.
“As of March 22, 2024, Debtor owes $309,292.23. Despite the United States’ demand for payment, made more than 30 days before the date of this Application, Debtor has failed to satisfy the debt,” the application, which was obtained by Fox News Digital, read.
Prosecutors are seeking to recover the authorized 10% litigation surcharge of $30,919, bringing the total amount of the garnishment action to $340,221.23.
The FBI poster of the suspects in the kidnapping of Sherri Papini. (FBI)
Investigators identified an unknown male’s DNA on her underwear when she returned and matched it to a relative of her ex-boyfriend.
Once they tracked him down, he came clean and admitted to helping her brand herself and shooting a hockey puck off her leg to cause bruising before dropping her off on the side of the road.
Detectives with the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office confronted her about the hoax in front of her dumbstruck husband in a 2020 videotaped interrogation, which was released last year.
The troubled mom continued to deny the kidnapping was fake or that she had been with her ex-boyfriend even as detectives confronted her with evidence that undermined her story.
She was not arrested until March 2022. Her husband filed for divorce days later.
Before her arrest, Papini illegally collected thousands of dollars in benefits by perpetuating the false kidnapping tale to the California Victim Compensation Board and the Social Security Administration.
At her sentencing, she apologized to her family and the public. She was ordered to pay about $309,000 in restitution.
Fox News Digital’s Rebecca Rosenberg contributed to this report.
