A woman who faked two pregnancies and falsely claimed that a former star of “The Bachelor” was the father of one of the children has been sentenced to 30 days in jail.
The sentencing in an Arizona courtroom ended a years-long legal saga that began when Laura Michelle Owens falsely claimed she was pregnant with the child of Clayton Ray Echard, a former star on the popular reality dating show.
Owens’ attorney did not respond to request for comment.
Owens, a California native living in Arizona, filed a paternity lawsuit against Echard in 2023 seeking child support, according to prosecutors. The allegations drew scores of headlines well after the last episode of the season featuring Echard aired in 2022.
Owens, 36, later dropped the suit after claiming she had a miscarriage. A judge then referred the case to prosecutors in Maricopa County, Ariz., after noting inconsistencies in Owens’ statements.
Authorities determined that Owens altered an ultrasound image, fabricated a pregnancy video and lied under oath claiming she was pregnant, according to a statement from prosecutors at the time.
The inquiry led prosecutors and investigators to a second man who briefly dated Owens. When that relationship ended, Owens alleged she was pregnant, using falsified documents to back up the claim, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
In May 2025, a grand jury indicted Owens on one count of fraudulent schemes, one count of forgery, four counts of perjury and one count of tampering with physical evidence in Echard’s case. She later was charged with additional counts of perjury and fraudulent schemes, two counts of taking the identity of another, two counts of forgery and one count of theft by extortion in the second man’s case.
Owens entered a plea agreement with prosecutors in August and pleaded guilty to two counts of fraudulent schemes and artifices, one count of perjury and one count of taking the identity of another. The rest of the charges were dropped.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office declined to comment.
Echard, 33, recently spoke about the case on the “Off The Vine” podcast, saying he was caught off-guard when Owens pleaded guilty in August.
“We were just, like, what the hell?” he said.
Echard, who also lives in Arizona, said believed Owens targeted him because of his appearance on the reality show and claimed she considered targeting local men “who had more resources.”
Echard declined to comment in an email to The Times.
During her sentencing hearing, prosecutors alleged Owens conducted “psychological warfare” on the two victims and sent hundreds of text messages trying to back up her claims of being pregnant.
The second victim, Greg Gillespie, allegedly had gone out with Owens three times. According to video of the sentencing hearing, Gillespie ended the relationship after the third date, but Owens reached out to him 11 days after the two had sex, claiming she was pregnant.
At one point, prosecutors allege Owens sent Gillespie an ultrasound image and said she was pregnant with twins. In text messages, Owens told Gillespie he could weigh in on whether to follow through with the pregnancy if he continued their relationship, but that she would carry the children to term if they broke up.
Gillespie eventually grew suspicious of the claims, prosecutors said Friday, and discovered the ultrasound image Owens sent him had in fact been found on the internet.
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