The California woman who staged her own kidnapping in a Gone Girl-style plot is pursuing the man she duped for $30,000 in legal fees to cover the costs of a custody battle she started — despite the fact that she was a was living a luxurious lifestyle financed by her wealthy new lover.
Sherri Papini, 41, was jailed in 2022 over the plot in which she disappeared for three weeks in November 2016 and then lied to police and her husband Keith about a kidnapping she masterminded
The mother of two — who was instead with an ex-boyfriend at the time she went missing — now lives in a $755,000 mansion paid for by her boyfriend, a widowed car dealer from Orland, California, and drives in a brand new car. Jeep SUV.
She is also fighting for more access to children Tyler, 14, and Violet, 12 – an idea strongly opposed by her ex, who wants her to undergo a psychological evaluation and not be allowed to see them unsupervised.
Despite her privileged existence, Papini pleaded poverty in an April lawsuit and is trying to force Keith to donate $30,000 to pay for her share of the legal battle.
Sherri Papini (left), 41, who was jailed in 2022 for faking her own kidnapping, asks her ex-husband to pay her $30,000 legal fees in custody battle
Keith Papini is strongly against giving his ex more access to their children and wants her to undergo a psychological evaluation and be banned from seeing them unsupervised.
Sherri told the court she only makes $1,000 a month and has to pay half of that in rent, despite living in a $755,000 mansion owned by her boyfriend Shawn Hibdon.
She also demands that he hand over an array of items from the marital home in Redding, including “Grandpa’s truck, an inflatable water slide, a leaf blower and a smart TV.”
An expense report obtained by DailyMail.com shows that the petite blonde claims to have an income of just $1,000 a month, of which she says she pays half in rent.
She was previously awarded just $10,000 during her divorce and was ordered to pay half of a $3,000 debt she accrued on a BestBuy credit card after being arrested in April 2022.
As DailyMail.com revealed on Wednesday, her landlord is none other than the new man, widowed car dealer Shawn Hibdon, who bought the property under an LLC in January.
The four-bedroom home has a monthly rental value of $3,294 per month, according to the website Zillow — more than six times what Papini claims to pay.
The couple, who were caught on camera enjoying a steamy make-out session in the backseat of her Jeep in a Starbucks parking lot in Orland, California, had tried to keep their romance a secret – with Papini failing to mention Hibdon in her story. court request for more time with her children.
Instead, the court filing describes her living in “a beautiful new home” in Shingletown, California, where she brags that the kids will get their own room, adding that she plans to decorate them to her liking .
Papini also claims to have a normal routine and a stable job – a “consultant” position she says she has at a small literary agency in LA called Lady Moon Entertainment.
Documents obtained by DailyMail.com show that Keith is opposed to both the cash grab and increasing the amount of time the convicted fraudster can spend with his children.
On an expense report, Sherri claims to pay $500 in rent to live in this sprawling house with a monthly rental value of $3,294 per month, owned by her boyfriend.
Sherri claimed her parents were working from her new home, but DailyMail.com visited the house, there was no sign of either parent – just Hibdon’s gray Hyundai in the driveway
The couple, who kissed in a Starbucks car park, have tried to keep their romance under wraps – with Papini failing to mention Hibdon in her lawsuit
The filing adds that she has been participating in parenting classes and weekly therapy sessions and moans, “I am also being monitored by a probation officer and by the media and have fully participated in the reentry and rehabilitation process.”
Papini’s parents Richard and Loretta also live in the remote mountain town, 27 miles from her former home in Redding. and, according to the April filing, working on her property.
“Additionally, my parents work on the property of my home so they will be nearby to share their love and warmth with their grandchildren,” she wrote in the April filing.
Papini added, “My entire life is planned around my children and I will continue to adapt to their needs for the rest of my life.”
When DailyMail.com visited the house there was no sign of either parent – although Hibdon’s gray Hyundai was parked in the driveway.
Documents obtained by DailyMail.com show that Keith is opposed to both the cash grab and increasing the amount of time the convicted fraudster is allowed to spend with his children, although he said at a hearing on June 10 that he is happy to have them with them on a weekly basis the children speak. .
In his response to the claim filed on May 7, the betrayed husband said Papini should not have unsupervised access to the children and said he would not force his son Tyler to attend the sessions.
Keith filed for divorce in April 2022 and sought to retain sole custody of their children Tyler, 11, and Violet, 9, following her release in August 2023
Sherri when she went missing for three weeks in 2016. The hoax was unraveled years later and in March 2022 she was arrested on charges of fraud and lying to police.
She also demands that he hand over an array of items from the marital home in Redding, including “Grandpa’s truck, an inflatable water slide, a leaf blower and a smart TV.”
He also said he can’t pay her legal fees and is only covering his own with the help of his family after he was fired from his job at Best Buy’s Geek Squad.
Keith added: “Based on her story, she has a stable job and a beautiful new home, which would indicate she can support herself, including attorney fees.
“I find it difficult to imagine how I could be responsible for past attorney fees, which apparently included trips out of town to visit Ms. Papini in jail.
“It is clear that I am not the person responsible for her actions, but one of many who have suffered as a result.”
During the June 10 hearing, during which the former couple exchanged icy glances as their lawyers argued, Judge Kathryn Barton agreed to let the case go to trial, but no date has yet been set.