An attorney who made up a story about being kidnapped while she was pregnant and driven to Georgia avoided jail time Wednesday. She might not be as lucky if she's charged with stealing from her clients, her attorney said.

Authorities said Karyn McConnell Hancock, 35, who was missing for three days in December, told them a man with a gun and two others abducted her outside a juvenile court building in downtown Toledo and forced her into the back of a van. She later recanted.

Hancock, who gave birth to a girl three weeks ago, was sentenced Wednesday to probation for two years and fined $300 for making up the story and triggering a search by authorities. She could have been sentenced to six months in jail on the misdemeanor charge of making false alarms.

Hancock's attorney, Jerry Phillips, said after the hearing that he thinks she ran off because some of her clients were beginning to accuse her of stealing from them.

Prosecutors will meet with Hancock for a second time next week to talk about the theft claims, Phillips said. "There's more to come," he said. "This is the first small step."

Phillips said he expects her to be charged with theft and forgery based on accusations from former clients who say she stole money from them. He said it was possible that she will face time in jail.

At least 10 of her former clients have come forward since her arrest, claiming that she stole money from them.

Hancock, a former city councilwoman, already has settled one claim with a man who said she stole $128,000 from an insurance settlement, Phillips said.

She is now seeking treatment for depression, he said.

Hancock, 35, was reported missing Dec. 5 and was found three days later after she flagged down a motorist near Six Flags amusement park near Atlanta. Her car was found nearby.

Investigators said she drove by herself to Georgia.

She told police she was tired and wanted to get away. Hancock's husband said she had a "meltdown."

Hancock's father, C. Allen McConnell, is a Toledo Municipal Court judge, and her husband is church bishop.

Investigators have said they don't think her husband or anyone else knew what she was doing.

Hancock apologized Wednesday before she was sentenced to her family and friends along with authorities who spent time investigating her disappearance. "I hope they find it in their hearts to forgive me," she said.

Visiting Judge David Faulkner said her actions were likely triggered by stress and depression.