Kidnap hoaxer Sherri Papini sobs facing ex-husband in court

Sherri Papini, the California woman who faked her own kidnapping to be with a former lover, was seen sobbing on the stand as she argued in court she deserves her fair share of the money she and her ex-husband earned as a couple.

The 41-year-old mom looked somber when she wiped a tear from her eye last week as she fought to get a share of an insurance payout her ex-husband, Keith, received following the Fawn Fire that scorched large swatches of Shasta County in October 2021.

She claims Keith controlled all of the finances and left her with nothing, even though she paid her share of the family expenses before faking her own kidnapping in 2016, according to ABC News.

But Keith, 39, claims all of the funds have been used on living expenses and a $500-a-month allowance for his mother when he and their two children were living with her.

He also argues in court papers that Sherri racked up credit card debt that she had no means of paying off.

A statement included in court documents shows Sherri spent $571.72 on an Airbnb in Montague, Calif., made a $254.79 purchase at a local Walmart, spent another $3,200 at Best Buy and paid two bills of $149.08 and $218.53 at a Kohl’s, according to the Daily Mail.

Other charges included payments to Amazon, including a Prime membership.

When asked about her finances in court on Oct. 23, Sherri repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment, ABC reports.

The hearing came just weeks after the mother of two failed to show up to another hearing, when her attorney said he was having difficulty getting a hold of Sherri, KRCR reported at the time.

Keith also claimed her legal team was refusing to speak to him as he seeks full custody of their two children. He currently has temporary custody of the children as divorce proceedings continue.

Keith had filed for divorce in April 2022, just days after Sherri pleaded guilty to the kidnapping scheme.

Prosecutors said Papini began planning the kidnapping hoax to get back with ex, James Reyes, around December 2015 and instructed him to obtain prepaid cell phones. 

On November 2, 2016, Papini texted Reyes and told him to pick her up from a trail where she claimed she was out for a jog.

She reappeared three weeks later on Thanksgiving near Woodland, wearing a chain around her waist and arm. She told police two Hispanic women kidnapped her at gunpoint.

Her lies fell apart after investigators found her DNA on a piece of clothing that led back to her ex-boyfriend, who dropped her off in Woodland when she decided to reappear.

Papini was then arrested in March 2022, more than five years after her disappearance, and was released from prison late last month.