The California ‘super mom’ who faked her own kidnapping in 2016 in a Gone Girl style plot has accused her ex-husband of having their children make secret recordings of their supervised custody sessions, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.
Sherri Papini, 42, spent just over 10 months in federal prison last year after her elaborate deception fell apart and she was convicted of fraud. She had in fact been staying with an ex-boyfriend.
It took cops almost six years to unravel Papini’s elaborate hoax which saw her starve and brand herself while hiding inside a Costa Mesa apartment for three weeks before dramatically reemerging to claim she had been kidnapped by two Hispanic women.
The investigation cost the California authorities more than $150,000 while Papini cashed in on her fraud to the tune of $30,000 from a state fund set up for victims of crime.
DailyMail.com can reveal that Sherri Papini has only seen her children Tyler, 11, and Violet, 9, three times since her release and believes that her ex-husband Keith recorded supervised custody sessions
The mom-of-two received a cash payout of just $10,000 in her divorce and is allowed to see her children only once a month for a one-hour supervised visit
Husband Keith, 41, filed for divorce shortly after her arrest, writing in divorce papers he and children Tyler, 11, and Violet, nine, had been repeatedly ‘victimized’ and lied to.
After doing her time at medium-security FCI Victorville, Papini was sent to a Bay Area halfway house where, in September, she was exclusively photographed by DailyMail.com skipping for joy as she left for a fresh start on the outside.
But while Papini’s plans included an idyllic existence in the small town of Red Bluff funded by a substantial payout from Keith, DailyMail.com can reveal that it hasn’t quite worked out that way for the mom-of-two.
Indeed, the 41-year-old now appears to be more wary than ever. Prior to her arrest, she lived a reclusive lifestyle at her and Keith’s remote Redding home and had made a habit of wearing a wad of cloth soaked with alcohol around her neck so she could breathe in what she said were ‘calming’ fumes.
Now court papers obtained by DailyMail.com reveal blonde Papini has even become nervous about being secretly recorded during her time with her children – repeatedly complaining about a watch worn by her daughter that she claimed had been set up to record her by Keith.
The records show Papini has seen her children just three times since being released from jail – and only saw Violet during her most recent visit, as Tyler refused to attend.
The first session was on November 15 – two months after she was released from the Oakland halfway house – and saw her spend time with both children with no problems according to the report compiled by a court-appointed supervisor.
Papini (seen left leaving a federal courthouse in 2022) claimed that her three-week disappearance in November 2016 was due to her being kidnapped by ‘two Hispanic women’
Sherri with her husband Keith on their wedding day. The mother of two told her ex-lover she had run away because Keith was abusing her
But the second on December 20 saw her raise concerns to supervisor Maira DeLaTorre Rojo over the watches the children were wearing after the session came to an end – accusing ex-husband Keith of having them secretly record their visit.
The report said: ‘NCP [Papini] said when Violet was showing her the watch was recording but said multiple times it didn’t bother her.
‘VS [Maira] said we will rewatch the tapes and have the children take their watches off before the visits…
‘As she [Papini] was leaving, she said to the director, ‘Keith programmed the watch to record the visit’.
‘The director stated we had no idea if it had been recorded or not and who may have done that, it could have been the child.’
The new filings come against the backdrop of Papini’s ongoing legal battle with Keith over access to her children – a case still pending with a settlement conference scheduled for later this month.
However, her divorce has now been finalized with Papini denied a 50 percent share of the insurance payout he received following the Fawn Fire which scorched large swathes of Shasta County – including Redding – in October 2021, and instead handed just $10,000.
Papini had also hoped to force Keith to pony up a bill of more than $3,000 racked up on a BestBuy credit card – but received half that.
Police went to lengths to find Sherri when she went missing in 2016 with an extensive flyer campaign. She was arrested on fraud charges and lying to law enforcement in March 2022
Court papers seen by DailyMail.com show Keith had complained about the August 2022 splurge – saying she had no means of paying it back and it had been done on a card that he had obtained for her to try to boost her credit score.
A statement included in court papers shows she racked up a $571.72 tab on an AirBNB in Montague, California, made a $254.79 splurge at a local branch of Walmart and paid two bills of $149.08 and $218.53 at a branch of Kohl’s in Chico.
Her ex-boyfriend James Reyes told police that Papini caused self-inflicted injuries while staying with him, including hitting herself to create bruises and burning herself on her arms
She also made multiple payments to Amazon, including on Prime membership, spent $933 on legal fees and splashed out $161.15 at upscale Northern California grocery store Raley’s.
The filing demanding repayment and penned by lawyers acting for Keith adds: ‘By the time these bills come due, Sherri will be safely shielded from nasty debt collectors by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
‘This is who Sherri Papini is – Sherri comes first, consideration of others second, if at all, and truth, integrity and morality of no consequence.’
According to court papers seen by DailyMail.com, the mom-of-two – who is using her parents’ remote home in Shingletown as her official address – is now working as a writer, telling her daughter she is penning two books in a bid to make ends meet.
A report detailing a custody visit on January 17 with daughter Violet reveals that Papini said she is setting up a foundation for families in similar situations while also writing the books in response to a question from the child.
She said: ‘Mommy’s also an author now. She’s writing two books. I work lots of hours to write chapter books.
‘So when I tell you I’m working remotely, that means I’m home writing chapters on my laptop.’
Like his ex-wife, Keith is also unemployed, but he has access to assets such as the large Redding home that Papini vanished from which he leases from his father
Keith, who previously worked as a member of the BestBuy Geek Squad, filed for divorce shortly after Papini was arrested in front of their children in March 2022.
He had believed Papini’s story – that her three-week disappearance in November 2016 was due to her being kidnapped by ‘two Hispanic women’ and repeatedly appeared on TV while she was gone to plead with her to come home.
In reality, as DailyMail.com revealed at the time, the mom-of-two had disappeared to be with ex-boyfriend James Reyes in Costa Mesa – later enlisting him to help create the bruises and branding she showed off as evidence that her tall tale was true.
On her return home, Papini continued to lie to Keith and her two children but was eventually forced to confess it was all a hoax following her arrest.
Keith filed for divorce immediately afterwards and told court that he wanted sole custody of his children – writing in an October 2022 filing that he had been ‘victimized’ by his wife.
He said: ‘On April 11 2022, I learned that I and my children had been victimized, that my wife was a skilled liar, an accomplished thief, a manipulator of others without empathy for their pain and loss.’
