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Woman indicted for 2nd case involving alleged paternity fraud
A Valley woman accused of faking a pregnancy to defraud a former star of "The Bachelor" is facing new charges. Also, a person of interest is being sought in connection with a south Phoenix shooting that left a teen dead; and an ICE plane was hit by a stray bullet during a shooting in Mesa.
PHOENIX - Officials with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office say a woman who was indicted for allegedly lying about a pregnancy to defraud the former star of a reality television program has been indicted once again.
What we know:
Per a statement released on Nov. 6, 35-year-old Laura Michelle Owens was indicted on seven felony counts.
"These charges are in addition to those involving victim Clayton Echard," officials wrote.
By the numbers:
According to prosecutors, Owens was indicted on the following:
- Two counts of Taking the Identity of Another
- Two counts of Forgery
- One count of perjury
- One count of Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices
- One count of Theft by Extortion-Accusation of Crime
What we don't know:
MCAO's statement on the new indictments only states that the charges involved a second victim. Officials did not reveal that victim's name.
Dig deeper:
Prosecutors said the unidentified victim began dating Owens in 2021, but decided not to continue the relationship following a third date.
"Owens then claimed to be pregnant by him," read a portion of the statement. "MCAO investigators found evidence that Owens falsified documents to bolster this claim."
The backstory:
In May 2025, we reported that Owens was indicted for alleged fraud. She was accused of claiming that Echard, who is a former star of ABC reality television program "The Bachelor," got her pregnant. Clayton was the Bachelor for the show's 26th season, which aired in 2022.
At the time, officials with MCAO said they began to investigate Owens at the request of a Superior Court judge.
"This came after the defendant made several inconsistent statements during a paternity hearing involving a former contestant on the television program, ‘The Bachelor,’ Clayton Echard," read MCAO's statement at the time. "Owens originally filed a lawsuit seeking child support from Echard, then dropped her claim, alleging she’d had a miscarriage."
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During a sit-down interview with FOX 10 Investigator Justin Lum that was done after Owens' first indictment, Echard claimed he never had sexual intercourse with Owens, and said he feel relieved that charges have been filed.
"A lot of happy feelings, great vibes and a sense of relief that now the county attorney will fight her. We don’t have to fight her anymore," Echard said at the time.
Court documents related to Owens' indictment in the case involving Echard state that besides fraud, Owens was also indicted for alleged forgery, perjury, and tampering with physical evidence.
The other side:
In a statement Owens released through her lawyer back in May, Owens said the allegations "appear to be the result of coordinated harassment, misinformation, and public pressure in the aftermath of a paternity case I filed against former Bachelor star Clayton Echard," and went on to say that she has been the target of a group called "Justice for Clayton."
"A faction of Mr. Echard’s supporters who built an entire narrative on a demonstrably false claim: that I faked a pregnancy. That accusation became their
rallying cry, fueling thousands of hours of monetized YouTube content, Reddit threads, and social media attacks—many of which dissected my medical history, mental health, and personal life with obsessive cruelty. The abuse eventually moved offline. The group issued a public death threat against my mother and called in multiple false welfare checks to our home—knowing the resulting bodycam footage would be released publicly and weaponized to humiliate me further," the statement continued.