Laura Owens sentenced for fake pregnancy scheme targeting former 'Bachelor' star

PHOENIX - A high-profile case ends with a judge’s sentencing today. An Arizona woman, convicted of faking pregnancies and fabricating medical records to target former "Bachelor" star Clayton Echard and other men, learned her fate in court.

The backstory:

Laura Owens pleaded guilty to multiple felonies in August. Investigators say Owens went to "extreme lengths to manipulate men," including Clayton Echard, who was a contestant on season 18 of "The Bachelorette" before being selected to star as "The Bachelor" in season 26 of the reality TV show.

Investigators say that between May 2023 and June 2024, Owens altered an ultrasound photo, faked a pregnancy video and lied several times under oath.

"It finally caught up to her"

What they're saying:

FOX 10 spoke with Echard’s attorney, who has been by his side throughout the entire ordeal and says Echard is ready to put this all behind him.

"Clayton's exhausted by this. I've been spending time with him on and off for years since this first happened. I remember the first day I met him, when Laura was, you know, faking pregnancy essentially with twins and knowing that she had done that before to at least one other victim," he said. "It's been a lot of years of watching Laura do a lot of damage to a lot of men. She faked medical records. She fakes medical conditions. She's faking pregnancy. She faked twin pregnancies multiple times, and it finally caught up to her," he said.

Owens Sentenced:

A judge handed down a sentence of 30 days in jail, with seven years of probation, to Owens on Oct. 23. If Owens violates her probation, she could face up to 12 years in jail.

As part of that seven-year probation, Owens cannot have any contact with the victims and must complete court-ordered mental health treatment.

The judge ruled Owens’ actions stemmed from mental health issues rather than a scheme to get money, finding prison was not the answer.

"I don't think putting a, you know, potentially mentally ill person who has committed a nonviolent offense with no prior criminal history in a prison is the appropriate thing to do. I'm not going to do that," the judge said. "I've taken into consideration she's taken responsibility by pleading guilty. She seems remorseful for her conduct. I've considered her physical and behavioral health issues as mitigation. I've considered some of her traumatic experiences she's had in her life and that she has family support. I consider all those as mitigating factors."

Both Owens and Echard spoke in court on Friday during the sentencing hearing.

"I pleaded guilty to four felonies, and I am profoundly, profoundly sorry for the pain, distress and expense that I've caused them," Owens said.

"Her tears that she brings in each day are going to be because she's fighting to keep herself from being incarcerated," Echard said. "Her tears aren't from empathy, they're not. She doesn't feel sorry. She's just sorry she got caught."

"She’s manipulative, and she manipulated the judge," Echard said.

The attorney for Stormy Mitchell—the woman whose ultrasound Owens stole—read a statement on her behalf.

"She then claimed that the photograph of my pregnancy represented her own pregnancy. She used my babies as part of a lie to manipulate and hurt someone else. Honestly that is despicable," prosecutor Ed Leiter read.

Investigators say Owens altered ultrasounds, faked videos, and lied under oath, claiming she was pregnant with Echard’s twins. Owens sued for child support before dropping the claim. Echard says they never had sexual intercourse.

Owens got emotional in court.

"I've never in my entire life set out to hurt another person. I'm just so terribly, terribly sorry that I ever put them into that position," Owens said.

Echard wasn’t buying it.

Echard's attorney, Gregg Woodnick, addressed the broader impact of the crimes outside the courthouse.

"The reality is what happened to [Clayton] did some damage, but he’s not alone. There are a lot of other victims, and I don’t know that they are going to feel like they got justice today," Woodnick said.

After a sentencing that could have carried 12 years in prison, other victims expressed disappointment.

"Really disappointed in the justice system today. I thought that they had a strong case to put her away for a substantial amount of time but … I was wrong," Mike Marraccini said.

"The judge had no spine and the system failed me, and she’ll be back in court with somebody else," Echard said.

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