Sherri Papini, the California mom who made headlines with her kidnapping hoax, has been released from federal prison and is currently in community confinement, according to records from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Papini, 41, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to two charges in a 35-count indictment related to her fake abduction. She is now placed in an undisclosed location overseen by the Residential Reentry Management Office in Sacramento.

The elaborate scheme began on November 2, 2016, when Papini went for a jog near her home in Redding, California, leaving behind her cellphone and earbuds. She arranged for her ex-boyfriend to pick her up and drive her 600 miles away to his home in Costa Mesa. Three weeks later, on Thanksgiving Day, Papini reappeared bound, beaten, and with a brand on her shoulder, claiming that two Hispanic women had kidnapped her at gunpoint. Her disappearance triggered a national media blitz and a costly multistate search.

It took investigators years to unravel the truth behind Papini's false story. They identified an unknown male's DNA on her underwear when she returned, which matched a relative of her ex-boyfriend. The ex-boyfriend eventually confessed to helping Papini brand herself and create bruises before dropping her off on the side of the road. In a 2020 videotaped interrogation, detectives confronted Papini about her hoax in front of her husband, who was left dumbstruck. Despite mounting evidence against her, Papini continued to deny the kidnapping was fake.

Papini's fraudulent tale extended beyond her false abduction. Before her arrest, she collected thousands of dollars in benefits by perpetuating her lie to the California Victim Compensation Board and the Social Security Administration. She received over $30,000 from the compensation board, $49,000 from a GoFundMe campaign, and $127,567.50 from social security disability payments. As part of her sentencing, Papini was ordered to pay approximately $309,000 in restitution.

After spending less than a year in prison, Papini has now been released into community confinement. She will be staying at one of the Residential-Reentry Management Field Office halfway house locations in California, according to officials. The Sacramento Bee reported that Papini's ex-boyfriend helped her escape her home and hide in Costa Mesa for three weeks. During her disappearance, her husband and friends raised alarms, leading to a nationwide search.

Papini's release brings an end to a saga that captivated the nation. Her case serves as a reminder of the consequences of fabricating a crime and the toll it takes on law enforcement resources and public trust. Despite her guilty plea and the evidence against her, Papini's motives for the hoax remain unclear. She is expected to be officially released from federal custody on October 29th.