Sam Riegel
$3 million
Sherri Papini has a negative net worth, owing approximately $300,000 or more in court-ordered restitution. Sherri Louise Graeff-Papini is an American woman from Shingletown, California, who gained national attention in November 2016 when she staged an elaborate kidnapping hoax, disappearing for 22 days before being found. She subsequently pleaded guilty to federal charges of making false statements to law enforcement and mail fraud, served 18 months in federal prison, and was released in 2023. Her ongoing legal obligations — including unpaid restitution — mean her net worth is effectively negative.
Updated March 2026: According to court filings and reporting by KRCR News and the U.S. Department of Justice, Papini owes approximately $300,000 in restitution as of 2026, which remains substantially unpaid. Any future earnings from media or book deals are subject to court oversight, with a significant portion directed toward restitution repayment.
Sherri Louise Graeff was born on June 11, 1982. She grew up in California and married Keith Papini in 2009, settling in Shingletown, a small community in Shasta County. The couple had two children together. On November 2, 2016, Papini disappeared while jogging near her home. Her husband Keith reported her missing, and the case quickly became a national media story, amplified by sympathetic coverage and an outpouring of public support. GoFundMe campaigns raised approximately $49,000 on the Papini family’s behalf.
On November 24, 2016 — Thanksgiving Day — Papini was found on the side of a road near Sacramento, 140 miles from her home. She was malnourished and had restraint marks on her wrists and a brand on her shoulder. She told investigators she had been kidnapped and held captive by two Hispanic women. The story drew widespread media coverage and FBI involvement.
In 2022, investigators revealed that no kidnapping had occurred. Papini had, in fact, spent the 22-day period living voluntarily with a former boyfriend, James Reyes, in Costa Mesa, California. She had self-inflicted her injuries and fabricated the entire abduction story. She pleaded guilty in April 2022 to one count of making false statements to a federal law enforcement officer and one count of mail fraud for falsely obtaining $30,000 from California’s Victim Compensation Board. She was sentenced in September 2022 to 18 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge William Shubb, as documented by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Papini was released from federal prison in 2023 and returned to Northern California. In 2025, she participated in a docuseries titled Sherri Papini: Caught in the Lie, in which she reversed her guilty plea narrative and claimed that former boyfriend James Reyes had in fact abducted her — a claim directly contradicting her federal guilty plea and the evidence presented at sentencing. The docuseries generated significant media attention and legal commentary about the ethical implications of a convicted fraudster profiting from her notoriety.
In June 2025, Papini self-published a book titled Sherri Papini Doesn’t Exist, with court terms mandating that royalties be applied toward her restitution obligations. As of early 2026, Papini is engaged in ongoing civil matters including an eviction proceeding from a Shingletown rental property and a custody dispute involving her two children, Tyler and Violet, from her marriage to Keith Papini, which ended in divorce in 2023, per reporting by Biography.com.
Sherri Papini’s marriage to Keith Papini ended in divorce in 2023, following her criminal conviction and imprisonment. The couple had two children together: a son named Tyler and a daughter named Violet. Custody of the children has been disputed, with ongoing court proceedings as of 2025, according to People. Papini resides in Shingletown, California, where she has reportedly faced eviction from a rental property on Woodridge Drive. She has publicly associated with Shawn Hibdon following her release from prison.
Sherri Papini’s net worth is negative. She owes approximately $300,000 in court-ordered restitution stemming from her 2022 federal conviction for making false statements to law enforcement and mail fraud related to her 2016 staged kidnapping. As of 2026, that debt remains largely unpaid, and Papini has minimal documented income or assets. Any future earnings from media deals are subject to restitution payment requirements.
In November 2016, Sherri Papini staged her own kidnapping and disappeared for 22 days, spending that time voluntarily with a former boyfriend in Costa Mesa, California. She self-inflicted injuries to support the false story and falsely collected $30,000 from California’s Victim Compensation Board. In 2022, she pleaded guilty to federal charges of making false statements to the FBI and mail fraud. She served 18 months in federal prison and was released in 2023.
Sherri Papini was born on June 11, 1982. As of March 2026, she is 43 years old. She grew up in California and was living in Shingletown, Shasta County, at the time of her 2016 disappearance.
Sherri Papini stands approximately 5 feet 3 inches tall (1.60 m). Federal court and law enforcement records from her case include this detail as part of her physical description in court documents.
Sherri Papini has two children: a son named Tyler and a daughter named Violet, both from her marriage to Keith Papini. The couple divorced in 2023, and custody of the children has been the subject of ongoing court proceedings, according to People.
As of early 2026, Sherri Papini is living in the Shingletown, California area. She faces eviction proceedings from a rental home, a custody dispute over her two children, and an unpaid restitution balance of approximately $300,000. In 2025, she appeared in the docuseries Sherri Papini: Caught in the Lie and self-published a book titled Sherri Papini Doesn’t Exist.