PHOENIX (Court TV) — A woman who had claimed a former contestant on the TV reality show “The Bachelor” owed her child support is now facing criminal charges after investigators say the entire thing was a hoax.
ABC’s The Bachelor float with Clayton Echard at the 133rd Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Owen Baker)
Laura Michelle Owens is charged with fraudulent schemes and artifices, forgery, perjury and tampering with physical evidence after allegedly attempting a “paternity scheme,” prosecutors said.
Clayton Echard, who appeared on season 18 of “The Bachelorette” and season 26 of “The Bachelor,” was named in a 2023 paternity suit by Owens, who claimed that Echard had fathered her twins. Maricopa County prosecutors say Owens faked a sonogram image and videos pretending to be pregnant and then lied under oath repeatedly as part of the suit in an attempt to get money from Echard.
“Justice is finally served,” an excited Echard shared on Instagram in a video after the charges were announced. “This nightmare is over. I am so ready to not have to think about this anymore.”
Investigators say that after filing her suit, Owens dropped her claim and alleged she had a miscarriage.
Owens is scheduled to be arraigned on May 29.
