FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE) — A victim turned suspect. Fresno Police said a Fresno woman spun herself into a web of lies, claiming she was kidnaped and robbed over the weekend.

Monday, police released new details. They said 32-year-old Maria Gonzalez claimed she was kidnaped by two African American men near Cedar and Floradora in southeast Fresno and taken to an orchard in Caruthers. 

But officers said she now admits she made the whole thing up.

Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said it all had to do with money or rather the lack thereof.

He said she owed money to two subcontractors that worked for her family’s business.

But because she didn’t have the money to pay them, Dyer said Gonzalez made up the story of the robbery.

“The fact is until we were able to all the pieces together some of the story made sense but a lot of it did not,” Dyer said.

He said Gonzalez claimed she was pistol-whipped, tied up and gagged and left in Caruthers.

Officers said Gonzalez had scratches and bruises to go along with her story.

She also claimed she was sexually assaulted and was even taken to the hospital to be treated.

But investigators said the evidence didn’t back up her claims.

“There was only one set of footprints located out there near the vehicle and those belonged to the victim,” Dyer said.

Police said after talking with her for more than two hours and sharing video with her of where and when she claimed the incident occurred, Gonzalez fessed up to faking the crime.

“The truth is that Maria Gonzalez made up this entire story for the purpose of, for the purpose letting someone know that $9,000 was stolen from her,” he said.

Dyer said now they may now arrest her for falsifying a police report. 

“Not only did this create an enormous amount of work for our detectives off of other cases that they could have been working but it created a lot of fear in our community and for that, she has to be held accountable,” Dyer expressed.

The Chief said reporting a false report is a misdemeanor but said they are talking with the DA to see what possible penalties she could face for scaring the community and tying up police resources. 

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