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Federal officials on Monday announced that an illegal alien from Mexico pleaded guilty to staging a fake kidnapping in 2025, falsely claiming she had been abducted by federal agents or people acting on their behalf.
Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderón, 43, of South Los Angeles, fabricated her disappearance to stir media outrage and build a case for a lawsuit against Border Patrol before going into hiding, according to the Office of First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli for the Central District of California.
“In June and July of 2025, Calderón faked her apprehension by federal agents or surrogates acting on behalf of federal agents,” officials said.
According to the attorney’s office, Calderón repeatedly contacted individuals using anonymous and blocked phone calls to build a fraudulent narrative.
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Photos allegedly staged to make Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon appear to have been detained and mistreated in custody, according to an affidavit. (US Department of Justice)
She falsely claimed federal agents had abducted and detained her at multiple locations, officials said. As she staged her release, she also altered her appearance to make it appear as though she had been mistreated in custody.
Court documents show that on June 25, 2025, Calderón falsely told an individual that immigration officials were taking her into custody near a fast-food restaurant and claimed agents had threatened to break her window.
Two days later, Calderón reportedly used caller ID blocking to contact a tenants’ rights advocate with another false claim. She allegedly lied that authorities had taken her to San Ysidro and forced her to sign deportation papers.
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Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon is seen in surveillance video at a parking lot. (Justice Department)
That same day, she reportedly told another individual that she had been moved to an unknown warehouse, where she was being held with other detainees.
“As a result of Calderón’s intentional lies, false information was reported to the media and law enforcement that Calderón had been ‘kidnapped’ by masked men in plain clothes driving an unmarked vehicle, who were acting as federal agents or as surrogates of federal agents,” officials said.
While Calderón “chose to stay hidden in Bakersfield,” her false claims prompted community organizers to demand her release, according to officials.
Surveillance video shows Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon walking to a parked car, according to an affidavit. (US Department of Justice)
On July 3, 2025, Calderón again reportedly used caller ID blocking to contact an individual, falsely claiming she would soon be released because of the media coverage.
That same day, she traveled from Bakersfield to Tulare County to stage her release from “Border Patrol” and approached an individual about serving as a witness in her case, officials said.
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“Calderón also altered her appearance to make it appear that she had been mistreated while in custody. A co-conspirator took photographs of Calderón’s altered appearance,” officials said.
A photo allegedly shows Calderon at a Bakersfield shopping mall while she was reported missing, according to an affidavit. (Justice Department)
For the next two days, Calderón turned off her phones and refused to return calls when she knew law enforcement was looking for her, according to the attorney’s office.
Calderón pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to impede, obstruct, impair and defeat the lawful function of Homeland Security Investigations within federal jurisdiction.
Her hearing is scheduled for Feb. 8, 2027.
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She faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.