A South Los Angeles woman pleaded guilty to faking her own kidnapping last year by federal agents, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderón, 43, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to impede, obstruct, impair, and defeat the lawful function of Homeland Security Investigations within federal jurisdiction, according to federal prosecutors.
In June and July of 2025, Calderón faked her apprehension and release by federal agents, even altering her appearance to look like she had been mistreated while in custody.
Her story began on June 25, when she told someone that she had been kidnapped by "masked men" at a Jack in the Box parking lot in downtown LA.
Days later, she called a member of a tenants' rights group, using the caller ID blocking feature, saying she had been taken by authorities to San Ysidro at the U.S.-Mexico border, where she claimed she and others were pressured to sign voluntary removal documents.
Calderón then called another person, with the caller ID blocked, and said she had been moved to a warehouse in an unknown area with other detainees.
On June 30, community members held a news conference, demanding Calderón be released from custody, while she remained hidden in Bakersfield, prosecutors said.
Three days later, she called an individual with blocked caller ID and said she would be released soon because of all the media coverage. That same day, she traveled from Bakersfield to Tulare County to stage her release from custody, according to prosecutors.
She had a co-conspirator take photos of her to make it look like she had been roughed up while in custody.
"From July 3, 2025, to July 5, 2025, Calderón turned off her phones and refused to return the phone calls of law enforcement officials, and caused others to do the same, when she knew law enforcement was looking for her," prosecutors said in a news release.
Investigators also pointed to phone records that they say show she was in communication with her family during the time that she was allegedly in custody.
Calderón is scheduled for sentencing on February 8, 2027, at which time she will face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.
