Laura Owens, the 36-year-old daughter of Bay Area radio personality Ronn Owens, is scheduled to face sentencing in Maricopa County Court in Arizona following her guilty plea to four felony charges in a pregnancy fraud case that attracted national attention. Owens admitted guilt in August to perjury, identity theft, and two counts of fraudulent schemes and artifices. These charges stemmed from her multi-year legal battles and false claims that she was pregnant with twins by former reality television star Clayton Echard and a second Arizona man.
Neither prosecutors nor defense counsel publicly disclosed their sentencing recommendations ahead of the hearing, and the pre-sentencing report containing the probation officer’s recommendation remained unreleased. The four felony charges carry varying penalties, with three of the counts requesting probation and the fourth carrying a maximum sentence of 12.5 years in prison. Legal experts noted that because she is a first-time offender, a maximum sentence is unlikely, though judges frequently weigh deterrence alongside personal history.
Echard, who appeared on season 26 of “The Bachelor,” has publicly maintained that Owens should serve prison time. After dating Owens once in May 2023, Echard stated he wanted to keep their relationship professional, after which court records show she sent approximately 500 texts and emails from 13 different phone numbers, threatened to go to the media, and later filed legal claims against him. Gregg Woodnick, the attorney who represented Echard and the second Arizona man, argued that prison is appropriate given that Owens falsified medical evidence and wore a fake pregnancy belly during a court hearing while claiming to be 24 weeks pregnant.
The criminal investigation into Owens began after a Maricopa County family court judge presiding over her June 2024 paternity trial against Echard referred the matter to prosecutors. The judge cited a lack of good faith and identified serial fabrications in Owens’ court declarations and testimony. The perjury charge specifically involved a false statement Owens made during that trial regarding a video appearance with a pregnant belly. Her initial Arizona case began after she moved to the state in 2021 following her father’s retirement, meeting her first Arizona victim on a dating app and subsequently sending him an ultrasound image stolen from a Texas woman to simulate a twin pregnancy.
Beyond her legal troubles in Arizona, Owens spent nine years litigating against a third man in San Francisco County Superior Court, alleging in 2018 that he also got her pregnant with twins and subjected her to domestic violence. That case involved attempts to renew a restraining order before it was ultimately dismissed, and that individual was not named as a victim in the Arizona criminal proceedings.
Owens currently resides with her parents, Ronn Owens and former reporter Jan Black, on a property in Scottsdale, Arizona. Court documents filed in September noted that Owens serves as the primary caregiver for her 81-year-old father, who has Parkinson’s disease and stage 4 cancer. The family has faced mounting financial difficulties, including two dismissed Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings and struggles to prevent their home from entering foreclosure. While Jan Black has consistently attended court proceedings to support her daughter, Ronn Owens and Black previously issued a statement expressing unwavering support for Laura Owens and defending her pursuit of the litigation.
If the judge imposes jail or prison time, legal observers expect Owens to be taken into custody immediately following the hearing. Defense attorneys noted that while a lengthy prison sentence is improbable for a first-time offender, a custodial term of up to a year in county jail could be combined with a period of probation.
