Balloon boy mom admits hoax

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – A newly released video shows the mother of the 6-year-old boy purported to be in a runaway balloon finally acknowledging to authorities it was all a hoax – contrary to her husband’s repeated public denials just before reporting to jail.

The video interviews obtained by the Fort Collins Coloradoan on Friday show Mayumi Heene telling sheriff’s officials that the Oct. 15 event was a hoax that she and her husband orchestrated to gain notoriety and land a reality TV show.

“We tried working so hard to make money to survive. It’s a shame to come up with this idea,” Mayumi Heene told an investigator during an interview days after the flight televised worldwide.

Mayumi Heene pleaded guilty to filing a false report and her husband, Richard Heene, pleaded guilty to attempting to influence a public servant. He began serving a 30-day jail sentence Jan. 11. His wife will serve a 20-day sentence after him.