3:09 PM PT -- Papini appeared in front of a judge Friday who noted the 2 charges against Papini for making false statements and mail fraud come with a max of 5 years/$250,000 fine and 20 years/$250,000 -- respectfully.
She'll be held in custody until at least Tuesday for her next hearing.
Sherri Papini made national headlines 5 years ago when she was reportedly kidnapped ... well now there's been an arrest -- no, the kidnappers weren't busted ... Sherri was.
The California mom was arrested Thursday night for staging her own disappearance. On top of that, she was charged with fraudulently obtaining tens of thousands of dollars in victim's assistance funds.
Papini was reported missing in early November 2016 and was later found on Thanksgiving day about 150 miles away from her home. She told law enforcement that she was abducted and held at gunpoint by 2 Hispanic women. She worked with an FBI artist who came up with a sketch of the alleged kidnappers.
Well ... according to the Justice Department's criminal complaint ... the DOJ says she lied about the whole thing and was actually staying with her ex-boyfriend when she claimed she was kidnapped.
On top of that, she allegedly harmed herself to make it look authentic.
In 2020, she doubled down on her story when she was interviewed by the feds ... although she was told that there was evidence to show that her story was a big fat lie.
Papini ended up racking up $30K in victim assistance from the California Victim's Compensation Board from 2017 to 2021 ... which included payments for therapy.
If convicted, she faces a maximum of a quarter-century behind bars.
Originally Published -- 6:57 AM PT