A Relative of Sherri Papini Says She Feels 'Betrayed': 'Everything Was Just a Joke'

When Sherri Papini was reported missing in November 2016, she became the subject of a nationwide search. Family members appeared on morning news shows and in newspapers, and the mystery captivated the nation.

For those close to Papini, the story was far more personal. Family members wondered who would have kidnapped the mother of two as she went out for a mid-morning jog in Redding, Calif. They passed out flyers and hoped for Papini's safe return.

On Thanksgiving morning — 22 days after Papini had vanished — she miraculously turned up on a rural road, almost 150 miles from where she had vanished. "We were so relieved," a close family member tells PEOPLE about Papini's recovery. "It was the outcome we had hoped for."

Papini allegedly told investigators she had been abducted by two Hispanic women who took her against her will and held her at gunpoint. According to a criminal complaint obtained by PEOPLE, she told a harrowing story of being abused and malnourished while chained in a dark bedroom.

But after investigating her alleged kidnapping, the FBI and the Department of Justice believed that Papini had fabricated the incident, and even inflicted wounds on herself. "In truth, Papini had been voluntarily staying with a former boyfriend in Costa Mesa and had harmed herself to support her false statements," investigators said in a press release.

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Papini has been charged with making false statements to a federal officer. She faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. She also faces up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 for mail fraud.

Now 39, Papini was released on a $120,000 bond Tuesday, a public information officer with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California confirmed to PEOPLE.

Under the conditions of her release, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremy Peterson ruled that Papini can only travel within one part of California, must surrender her passport and has to undergo psychiatric treatment.

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As the case unfolds publicly, Papini's family is privately processing their feelings about the latest developments.

"I was there for her, and I would've given her the shirt off my back," her close family member tells PEOPLE in its latest issue. "And now I understand that everything was just a joke. I feel betrayed."

Despite the apparent betrayal, family members don't necessarily feel that a long jail sentence will be good for Papini.

"They have two beautiful, sweet children and this breaks my heart," says the relative. "She needs help — mental help."