The woman who falsely claimed she was pregnant with “Bachelor” star Clayton Echard’s twins has pleaded guilty to fraud following a years-long legal battle.
Laura Owens, 35, pleaded guilty Friday to four felony charges stemming from false pregnancy claims involving Echard and another man, according to the Arizona Republic.
Owens admitted to two counts of fraudulent schemes and artifices, one count of perjury and one count of taking the identity of another during a settlement conference in Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix.
As part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to dismiss the remaining 10 charges against Owens, which included additional allegations of forgery, perjury, identity theft, theft by extortion and tampering with evidence.
There is no sentencing agreement attached to one of the fraudulent schemes counts, leaving a judge to decide whether she will receive probation or prison time.
If sentenced to prison on that charge, Owens could reportedly spend between three and 12 1/2 years behind bars, with a presumptive sentence of five years.
The legal drama began in 2023 when Owens filed a paternity lawsuit claiming Echard, 33, had impregnated her with twins after the two met at his Scottsdale, Arizona, home.
Echard, who starred on Season 26 of “The Bachelor” after appearing on Michelle Young’s season of “The Bachelorette,” vehemently denied fathering the children.
Owens later dropped her paternity claim and alleged she had suffered a miscarriage.
However, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled in 2024 that Owens had falsified evidence and lied under oath during the contentious paternity battle.
Judge Julie Mata found that Owens had altered or fabricated sonograms and ultrasounds and ruled in Echard’s favor, determining that no pregnancy had ever been confirmed.
Mata also ordered Owens to pay Echard’s attorneys’ fees and referred the matter to prosecutors for a criminal investigation.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office subsequently alleged that Owens altered an ultrasound image, fabricated a pregnancy video and repeatedly lied under oath between May 2023 and June 2024.
She was initially indicted on seven felony charges in May 2025.
But the case took another twist months later when prosecutors brought seven additional felony charges against Owens over allegations that she had pulled a similar pregnancy scheme involving another man, Gregory Gillespie, whom she briefly dated in 2021.
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Prosecutors accused Owens of using forged medical records and other women’s identities to support her pregnancy claims, including allegedly passing off another woman’s ultrasound as her own.
The plea agreement resolves the criminal charges stemming from both cases.
Owens will receive supervised probation on three of the four charges to which she pleaded guilty and must have no contact with the victims. She will also be required to pay restitution, though the amount has not yet been determined.
Echard previously described the ordeal as a fight to clear his name after his accuser’s claims became public.
The former reality star has maintained that he never had sex with Owens and therefore knew he could not have fathered her alleged twins.
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