Two months after former “Bachelor” star Clayton Echard told a judge that Laura Owens needed to “either take it, or go to trial,” Owens took the deal.
Owens pleaded guilty to four felony counts on Aug. 28 in the criminal case stemming from false pregnancy claims involving Echard and another Arizona man.
She pleaded guilty to two counts of fraudulent schemes, one count of perjury and one count of taking the identity of another, according to the plea hearing at Maricopa County Superior Court in downtown Phoenix.
The agreement does not guarantee Owens will avoid prison.
They parties didn't make any agreement on sentencing on one of the fraudulent-schemes counts, meaning a judge can decide whether Owens receives probation or prison on that count.
If he
chooses prison, Owens faces a term ranging from three years to 12 years. The presumptive prison term is five years.
Under the deal, Owens will receive supervised probation on the other three counts. She also must have no contact with the victims and pay restitution for economic losses covered by the agreement. The amount was not yet set.
Prosecutors agreed to dismiss the remaining 10 counts, which included additional allegations of forgery, perjury, identity theft, theft by extortion and evidence tampering.
Owens' sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 23.
Plea resolves accusations involving Clayton Echard, Gregory Gillespie
The criminal case grew out of Owens’ legal fight with Echard, who disputed her claim that he had fathered twins after an encounter at his Scottsdale home in 2023.
In 2024, Superior Court Judge Julie Mata found that Owens had falsified sonograms, altered medical records and lied under oath during the civil case. Mata ordered Owens to pay Echard’s legal fees and referred the matter to prosecutors.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office initially charged Owens in May 2025 and later expanded the case to include pregnancy claims she made against Gregory Gillespie who lived in Scottsdale when the two dated in 2021.
Prosecutors accused Owens of using forged medical records and the identities of other women to bolster those claims. One claim involved an ultrasound belonging to another woman.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Laura Owens pleads guilty in ‘Bachelor’ pregnancy-fraud case
