As an ethics keynote speaker and ethics consultant, I am often asked if fraud or scams need to involve large sums of money and Ponzi schemes? The answer, of course, is “No.” While it is true that in the case of Sherri Papini that she (according to the DOJ):
“Faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for making false statements and a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for mail fraud,” she won’t pay either consequence.
Faking Hate
While I report and speak on all types of unethical behaviors, there are indeed some far more maddening than others. Sherri Papini checks many boxes of fraud and with it, the types of behaviors that do little more than fan the flames of division and hatred. We need no more of that in this country.
In 2016, Sherri Papini, then 33-years old claimed to have been jogging and carefree along a secluded road in California when she was abducted at gunpoint. She claimed to have been beaten and then “branded” and held for three weeks.
She was presumably located by a motorist as she wandered along a road, beaten and handcuffed, explaining her kidnappers had released her. She claimed the women were Hispanic and in fact, supplied the FBI sketch artist with their images.
I might add, as I think it’s relevant, that Sherri Papini is white, blue-eyed, blond, fit and now a married mom of 39-years old. In fact, her friends described her as a “Super-mom.”
I need to add as well, that the entire story was a hoax, down to the “accurate – and sinister sketches” of the sketch artist.
What eventually started to trip-up Papini was the lack of DNA evidence. It led the FBI to determining something major was amiss. On March 3, 2022, she was arrested by federal authorities.
The plea-bargaining games
Newly-arrested and contrite, Sherri Papini admitted that for three weeks she stayed with her boyfriend in Southern California.
Over the months, she agreed to a plea bargain deal including restitution of $300,000, a count of mail fraud and one count of “making false statements.”
Said Papini:
“I am deeply ashamed of myself for my behavior and so sorry for the pain I’ve caused my family, my friends, all the good people who needlessly suffered because of my story and those who worked so hard to try to help me…I will work the rest of my life to make amends for what I have done.”
Included in “what I have done” act of contrition was an interesting line item from the Justice Department:
“Papini also obtained more than $30,000 from the state’s victim compensation board and used those funds to pay for new blinds in her home, the ambulance costs she incurred, and therapy for the alleged anxiety and PTSD she experienced as a result of the made-up kidnapping.”
Ethically, if I had any doubts of her mental status, they were erased by that statement. She indulged herself by taking the money and using it for her own gratification. Oh, and by the way, the money for the blinds was an interesting touch.
What also bothers me deeply is that Papini, made a concerted effort to throw the Latinx community right under the bus. She demonized the community. And, nowhere, in her contrition did the supermom apologize to the Hispanic community. I might as well add, that blond, blue-eyed supermom had the sketch artists create darker, skin-toned Latinas.
Save your apology
Fraud is always contingent on a lack of oversite, a need and rationalization. Friends and family couldn’t verify Papini’s claims one way or the other; her need was for a self-indulgence of the worst kind, but her rationalization – essentially using “the other” to become scapegoats for her actions was downright evil.
Yes, I believe in second chances, and I am consistent in that regard, but to gain a second chance, a full admission of guilt is essential. I am sorry to say, but “supermom” is a racist of the worst kind; she is unrepentant.
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