Los Angeles woman admits kidnapping story that sparked multistate search was a lie

LA woman admits lying to FBI about kidnapping

LOS ANGELES — A 24-year-old Los Angeles woman has admitted she lied to the FBI last summer when she claimed she’d been kidnapped and triggered a multistate search.

Sylvia Mardini pleaded guilty Monday to making false statements to the FBI and agreed to pay more than $20,000 in restitution for law enforcement expenses.

Mardini failed to return home on Aug. 21, later texting her mother that she’d been abducted at gunpoint and taken to Utah. The Colorado State Patrol found her two days later at a gas station.

Mardini returned to Los Angeles, where was interviewed by FBI agents. The agents concluded she had fabricated the story.

Mardini faces up to five years in prison when she’s sentenced in May.