Balloon boy couple face $42,000 bill for hoax

Miss-Delectable

Miss-Delectable

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Balloon boy couple face $42,000 bill for hoax

The Colorado couple responsible for the "balloon boy" hoax which captivated audiences around the world are facing a $42,000 bill for the stunt, their lawyer said.

Attorney David Lane said Richard Heene and his wife Mayumi had been ordered to pay the amount in restitution for the air and land rescue effort triggered by their false report that son Falcon had floated away in a home-made balloon.

The October 15 incident became one of the most notorious hoaxes in US history, gripping millions of viewers as television networks broadcast live coverage of the "runaway balloon" feared to have a six-year-old on board.

Authorities later said the incident was a hoax cooked up by the Heenes in a bid to land the family their own reality television show.

Richard Heene, 48, and Mayumi Heene, 45, face a sentencing hearing in Colorado on Wednesday after entering guilty pleas to various charges.

Richard Heene has pleaded guilty to a felony charge of attempting to influence a public servant while Mayumi, a Japanese national, admitted a misdemeanor offense of false reporting to authorities.

Although the charges are punishable by jail terms, the couple is expected to receive probation.

Lane meanwhile confirmed to AFP he had received an e-mail from the Larimer County District Attorney's Office demanding repayment for the rescue operation. However he said the Heenes were not in a position to pay the bill.
 
They were made an example of as a means to deter other would-be publicity seekers. What a couple of tools those two are.
 
update from cnn

'Balloon boy' parents sentenced for hoax
'Balloon boy' parents sentenced for hoax - CNN.com

A judge in Colorado sentenced the father who in October falsely reported his 6-year-old son was aloft in an escaped balloon to 90 days on Wednesday.

The judge indicated that Richard Heene will spend part of the time in jail and the rest on work release.

He is to begin his sentence after the holidays.

Heene tearfully apologized during the hearing.

"I'm very, very sorry, and I want to apologize to all the rescue workers out there and the people who got involved in the community. That's it," Richard Heene said.

His wife, Mayumi Heene, received a sentence of 20 days in jail, which is less than the 60 days agreed to by prosecutors as part of a plea deal before the hearing.

Mayumi Heene won't begin her sentence until her husband finishes his jail time so there can be someone home with their children, Larimer County Judge Stephen Schapanski said.

She also was given four years of supervised probation and must do 120 hours of public service.

Earlier, a prosecutor revealed the search-and-rescue launched in response to the incident cost at least $47,000 and said Richard Heene and his wife, Mayumi, should pay restitution to the various agencies that participated.

Last month, Richard Heene pleaded guilty in Larimer County Court to a felony charge of attempting to influence a public servant. Mayumi Heene pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of false reporting to authorities.

The incident occurred in October, when a large silver balloon came loose from its moorings in the Heenes' yard and drifted over eastern Colorado. Mayumi Heene called 911 and said the couple's 6-year-old son, Falcon, was inside the craft.

Millions of people across the country watched the saga on television for nearly two hours as military aircraft tracked the balloon in the air and rescuers chased it below.

Mayumi Heene later admitted the whole thing was a hoax and that Falcon was safe in their home the whole time, authorities said.

The couple's attorneys have said that the threat of Mayumi Heene's deportation was a factor in the plea deal negotiations. Mayumi Heene is a Japanese citizen but is in the United States legally.

Court documents released in October said the couple hatched the plan about two weeks before the incident and "instructed their three children to lie to authorities as well as the media regarding this hoax."

Their motive was to "make the Heene family more marketable for future media interests," the documents said.
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To think they actually wanted to wait and see for the receipts from the people who got involved in the "rescue" of their son. :roll:
 
poor kids. kids can't have everything that parents can't provide by paying a lot on their bad decision. :|
 
Bottesini said:
Beats going to jail
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From what I read in another more detailed article, they are going to jail. They aren't spending all of their time in the jail though, and will have a lot of leniency. Richard Heene is expected to spend his nights in a jail cell, and Mayumi Heene is expected to spend her weekends in a jail cell.
 
again...stupidity ...jeese i don't get what some ppl do with their day...honey i think tday..i think we are gonna try to get some publicity but making up a story! like fuck ppl get a life
 
update from people magazine

'Balloon Boy' Parents Sentenced to Jail Time
'Balloon Boy' Parents Sentenced to Jail Time - Crime & Courts, Mayumi Heene, Richard Heene : People.com

The Colorado parents who orchestrated the so-called balloon-boy hoax in October were both sentenced to prison terms on Wednesday.

Richard Heene, 48, received 90 days in jail and four years' probation, ABC News reports. His wife, Mayumi Heene, 45, was given 20 days behind bars and four years' probation.

They also received community service (100 hours and 120 hours, respectively), and are barred from profiting financially in any way from the incident for at least four years.

The hoax occurred on Oct. 15, when the Heenes claimed their 6-year-old son Falcon had floated away from the family's Fort Collins home in a homemade balloon. In fact, the boy was hiding in the house at the time.

Richard Heene offered a brief apology at the sentencing. "I do want to reiterate that I'm very, very sorry," he said. "And I want to apologize to all the rescue workers out there and the people that got involved in the community. That's it."

Mayumi Heene declined to make a statement.

In making a case for jail time, Larimer County chief deputy district attorney Andrew Lewis told the court: "Mr. Heene wasted a lot of man power and a lot of money in wanting to get himself some publicity," and said the court should make an example of him.
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