Carlee Russell Fined $17,000 for Faking Her Own Kidnapping

The woman whose “kidnapping” sparked a nationwide search last summer pleaded guilty in district court to faking her disappearance in an Alabama courtroom on Thursday.

Carlee Russell, 26, pleaded guilty in Jefferson County Circuit Court to two misdemeanor charges for filing a bogus police report. Judge David Carpenter sentenced her to 12 months of supervised probation and ordered her to pay $17,000 in restitution to the city of Hoover and to complete 100 hours of community service.

“It would be a waste of government resources to put you in jail,” he said.

Read more at The Daily Beast.