Carlee Russell Sentenced to Probation, Order to Pay Nearly $18K Restitution After Admitting to Kidnapping Hoax

Carlee Russell, the Alabama woman who made headlines for lying about her kidnapping, was ordered to pay nearly $18,000 in restitution and sentenced to probation during a court appearance on Thursday.

Last summer, Russell was charged with two misdemeanor counts related to the hoax. She pleaded guilty to filing a false police report and falsely reporting an incident to law enforcement Thursday morning at the Jefferson County Courthouse.

Russell disappeared on July 13, 2023, after calling 911 to report seeing a child walking along the interstate. Her car was found abandoned later that night. Two days later, the former nursing student reappeared and initially reported being kidnapped, but later confessed to fabricating the kidnapping through her attorney.

Russell initially pleaded not guilty to the charges back in October. Still, a judge found her guilty and recommended a sentence of one year in prison and restitution of over $17,000. Though Russell’s legal team considered the restitution fair, they appealed the conviction to avoid prison time. A state trial was scheduled to begin this week but was removed from the docket, and a plea hearing was scheduled instead on Thursday, where Russell pleaded guilty to the charges.

She subsequently was sentenced to 12 months supervised probation, community service and evidence of continued mental health counseling, and she must pay $17,974.88 restitution.

“I want to genuinely apologize for my actions, and the resulting negative impact inflicted onto others. I made a grave mistake while trying to fight through various emotional issues and stress,” Russell said. “I’m extremely remorseful for the panic, fear and various range of negative emotions that were experienced across the nation.”

“I want to to specifically acknowledge and take accountability for the pain and embarrassment that I inflicted upon my family, my church family, friends, neighbors, community, and all of those who were directly involved in search efforts for me,” Russell added.

To this day, Russell has never confessed to where she was during the time she went missing.