Laura Owens gets 30 days in jail in Clayton Echard pregnancy fraud case
The former Bachelor star urged a prison sentence, but an Arizona judge ordered jail time followed by seven years of probation.
Laura Owens was sentenced on October 23 to 30 days in jail and seven years of probation in Maricopa County Superior Court in Arizona, after pleading guilty to felony charges in a case involving former Bachelor star Clayton Echard. Judge Jeffrey Rueter ordered her jailed immediately, according to The Guardian.
Echard urged the judge to incarcerate Owens. In a victim-impact statement reported by The Hollywood Reporter, he said he believed she would not stop unless she was removed from her surroundings. Owens apologized in court for the pain, distress and expense she had caused, The Guardian reported.
Why the judge chose jail and probation
Rueter said Owens had inflicted emotional and financial harm on multiple victims. But he said prison was not the right response for a potentially mentally ill person with no prior criminal history who had committed a nonviolent offense, according to The Guardian. He ordered Owens to remain in jail until November 22, then serve seven years of probation.
The judge also said Owens could face up to 12.5 years in prison if she failed to complete probation and it was revoked, The Guardian reported. That possible prison term depends on what happens during probation; it was not the sentence imposed on October 23.
How the Clayton Echard case reached sentencing
Owens pleaded guilty on August 28 to four felony counts: two counts of fraudulent schemes and artifices, one identity-related count and one count of perjury. The case followed a family-court dispute over her claim that she was pregnant with Echard’s twins after a 2023 encounter. Echard contested that claim, and Owens later said she had miscarried, The Guardian reported.
In 2024, family-court judge Julie Mata found that Owens had falsified sonograms and medical records and lied under oath, according to The Guardian’s account of reporting by the Arizona Republic and KPNX. Mata ordered Owens to pay Echard’s legal fees and referred the matter to prosecutors, who filed criminal charges in May 2025.
The hearing also included a statement read on behalf of Greg Gillespie, another man against whom Owens had made a false pregnancy claim, The Hollywood Reporter reported. Mike Marraccini attended the hearing, the outlet said, although he was not a listed victim in the Arizona prosecution because the alleged conduct involving him occurred in California.
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Sources and context
- Laura Owens Sentenced to 30 Days in Jail for Pregnancy Fraud Targeting ‘The Bachelor’ Star Clayton EchardThe Hollywood Reporter
- Woman who faked pregnancies, including with Bachelor star, sentenced to 30 daysThe Guardian
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.