World · North America · 4 hrs ago
Mexican woman pleads guilty to faking a kidnapping by US agents
Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderón pleaded guilty in California to conspiring to obstruct the work of federal investigators.
The 43-year-old, who lives in south Los Angeles, admitted that she falsely claimed immigration agents had detained her in June and July 2025.
She told people she had been taken to several locations, including San Ysidro and a warehouse, and later staged her release in Tulare County.
The false story spread to the media and law enforcement, and community activists repeated it at a news conference in Los Angeles calling for her release.
Federal Homeland Security Investigations was carrying out government duties that included handling credible public-safety threats such as kidnappings.
She faces a maximum of five years in federal prison for the charge she admitted.
A judge set sentencing for February 8, 2027.
Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderón pleaded guilty to conspiring to obstruct federal immigration investigators by falsely claiming she had been detained by federal agents.
The 43-year-old Mexican woman admitted that she fabricated a kidnapping story and blamed federal agents or people acting on their behalf.
Her claims were shared with the media and law enforcement, and community activists publicly called for her release.
Pelaez Calderón faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for February 8, 2027.
- Who
- Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderón, a 43-year-old Mexican woman living in Southern Los Angeles.
- What
- She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct the lawful functions of Homeland Security Investigations by faking her detention.
- When
- She admitted fabricating the story between June and July 2025. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for February 8, 2027.
- Where
- The case is in the US District Court for the Central District of California. The reported events included Los Angeles, Bakersfield and Tulare County.
- Why
- She admitted that she intended to obstruct HSI’s functions. She also said she planned to sue the Border Patrol.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Pelaez Calderón falsely told someone that immigration was taking her from inside or near a fast-food restaurant.
She told a tenants’ rights group member that authorities had taken her to San Ysidro and later claimed she was being held at a warehouse.
She changed her account, saying she was with someone from an immigration center in Los Angeles and another person picked up in Bakersfield.
Community activists held a news conference in Los Angeles and repeated her account while calling for her release.
Pelaez Calderón said she would soon be released and traveled from Bakersfield to Tulare County to stage her supposed release.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled; she faces a maximum of five years in federal prison.
- Defendant
- Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderón
- Age
- 43
- Plea
- Guilty to conspiracy to obstruct HSI’s lawful functions
- Maximum sentence
- Five years in federal prison
- Sentencing hearing
- February 8, 2027
What people are saying
immigration was taking me
turned on the lights
threatened to break my window
the Border Patrol had just released me