Federal Officials Announce Guilty Plea in Fake Kidnapping Case
On Monday, federal authorities revealed that a woman from Mexico, Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderón, 43, pleaded guilty to orchestrating a phony kidnapping in 2025. She falsely asserted that federal agents, or individuals posing as them, had abducted her.
According to the Office of First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli for the Central District of California, Calderón staged her disappearance to provoke media attention and lay the groundwork for a lawsuit against Border Patrol. After the incident, she reportedly went into hiding.
Officials stated that in June and July of 2025, Calderón pretended to be taken into custody by federal agents or their alleged proxies. The attorney’s office mentioned that she made numerous calls using blocked numbers to create a deceptive narrative.
In a recent court document, it was revealed that on June 25, 2025, she claimed to someone that immigration officials had detained her near a fast-food restaurant and had threatened her. Just two days later, she reached out to a tenants’ rights advocate, again using caller ID blocking, and falsely asserted that she had been taken to San Ysidro and compelled to sign deportation papers.
Calderón also told another individual that she had been confined in an unknown location, alongside other detainees. Because of her deliberate fabrications, misinformation spread, which led others to believe she had been “kidnapped” by men in plain clothes driving an unmarked vehicle, supposedly acting as federal agents.
While Calderón chose to remain hidden in Bakersfield, her claims sparked demands for her release from community organizers.
On July 3, 2025, she again employed caller ID blocking to contact someone, claiming that media coverage would soon lead to her release. That day, she traveled from Bakersfield to Tulare County, staging her own release and seeking out a witness for her fabricated case.
Officials noted that she also changed her appearance to suggest mistreatment during her supposed detainment. A co-conspirator allegedly documented her altered look.
During the next two days, Calderón reportedly switched off her phones and ignored calls from authorities, knowing they were searching for her.
Calderón ultimately pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy to obstruct the lawful functions of Homeland Security Investigations. Her sentencing hearing is set for February 8, 2027, and she faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.
