From Fox News: A Mexican illegal alien living in Los Angeles was charged with orchestrating her own fake ICE “kidnapping” to generate sympathy and solicit donations, the Justice Department announced Thursday.
Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon, 41, a resident of South Los Angeles, was charged with conspiracy and making false statements to federal officers, the DOJ said.
Calderon had been living in the U.S. based on a federal law enforcement parole that expired in 2023. She is in federal custody after she allegedly faked her kidnapping.
Local outlet KTLA reported on a news conference held by Calderon’s “loved ones and attorneys,” who claimed she was “kidnapped” by uniformed men in unmarked cars on June 25.
An attorney, Stephano Medina, claimed Calderon was cornered in a Los Angeles parking lot by men who may have been bounty hunters. Medina said Calderon was taken to the border and presented to an “ICE staffer” who wanted her to sign self-deportation paperwork.
When Calderon refused, Medina said she was taken to a warehouse.
Fox News Digital obtained Calderon’s criminal complaint, which alleges she and others planned a hoax kidnapping for their gain.
The affidavit said Calderon’s daughter set up a GoFundMe page to raise $4,500 after she was “taken by masked men in an unmarked vehicle.”
Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon, 41, of South Los Angeles, is charged with staging a hoax kidnapping that was used to falsely blame U.S. immigration officials in Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/ZkqJEyYLUU
— US Attorney L.A. (@USAO_LosAngeles) July 17, 2025
FAKE NEWS HOAX EXPOSED:
Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon was NEVER arrested or kidnapped by ICE or bounty hunters—this criminal illegal alien scammed innocent Americans for money and diverted limited DHS resources from removing the worst of the worst from Los Angeles communities.… pic.twitter.com/p55qNSuRfJ
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) July 17, 2025
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