A California woman in the United States admitted in 2016 that she faked her own kidnapping, in addition to lying to authorities.

Sherri Papini, 39, disappeared while running near her home. Three weeks later, she reappeared on Thanksgiving. Papini was found by the roadside, bruised and tied at the waist and ankles. The police said she also cut her hair.

At the time, he claimed that two Hispanic women had kidnapped him and triggered a major search operation conducted by the police.

Later, the FBI concluded that an ex-boyfriend was at his home.

The crime earned Papini the nickname “California’s Gone Girl” in reference to the movie “Gone Girl”, in which the protagonist makes a similar antics.

It is still unclear why Papini orchestrated the kidnapping and did not give further explanations to the court. He told the judge in court on Monday that he felt “very sorry”.

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to offer a prison sentence of eight to 14 months, less than 25 years after he could face fraud and lying to federal agents. The sentence will be announced in July.

He also agreed to pay a fine of US$300,000 – a portion of the amount that will cover police costs for the search and investigation of the kidnappers.

‘He hurt himself’

The FBI announced in March of this year that it had discovered that Papini had staged the entire incident, after an extensive search of his alleged kidnappers.

In its 55-page denunciation, the FBI stated that she spent her disappearance period at her ex-boyfriend’s house, with whom she communicated using prepaid phones as early as December 2015.

The complaint adds that Papini sometimes “hurts himself to support his false statements” with the help of his ex-boyfriend. “She injured herself to form bruises and burns on her arms.”

While Papini didn’t give authorities details on his motives, the FBI complaint includes witness testimonies from longtime acquaintances who said he had “a history of lying for attention.”

Papini’s lawyer had previously stated that he had suffered from mental health problems.

Papini said on Monday that he has been treated for depression, anxiety and PTSD since the incident.

The treatment was paid for with money from a state compensation fund for victims of violence and now has to be repaid as part of the fine.