‘Bachelor' star Clayton Echard's accuser charged in paternity scheme

Yahoo

09-05-2025

(NewsNation) — An Arizona woman has been indicted on fraud charges after being accused of faking a pregnancy with a star from 'The Bachelor.'
Laura Owens, of Maricopa County, Arizona, is also accused of demanding child support from 'The Bachelor' star Clayton Echard, according to police.
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Police in Maricopa County said that, in July 2024, the department started investigating Owens after a superior court judge requested it. Owens allegedly made inconsistent statements during a paternity hearing involving Echard.
Owens had filed a lawsuit to get child support from Echard, but then dropped her claim and said she had a miscarriage. Investigators found that, between May 2023 and June 2024, Owens had allegedly:
Changed an ultrasound photo
Falsified a pregnancy video
Lied under oath multiple times
On May 1, a grand jury indicted Owens on several charges, including:
One count of fraudulent schemes and artifices (Class two felony)
One count of forgery (Class four felony)
Four counts of perjury (Class four felony)
One count of tampering with physical evidence (Class six felony)
According to NBC News, Owens is the daughter of Ronn Owens, who is a popular radio host in San Francisco, California.
Echard, the star of the 26th season of 'The Bachelor' and former University of Missouri football player, posted a video statement Tuesday, expressing his happiness over the indictment of Owens.
Owens said, 'This nightmare is over… I am so ready to not have to think about this anymore. I want to say thank you to Rachel Mitchell (Maricopa County Attorney) and the investigators for serving up justice. I want to thank my lawyers. They've been incredible, standing by my side.'
In the caption of his video, he said, 'Thank you all for your continued support in helping me seek justice. It has been a long, tiresome road, but we have reached the end point of where we hoped to be.'
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