An illegal immigrant from Mexico has been charged with staging her own kidnapping by ICE officers in an elaborate hoax that was promoted by LA Mayor Karen Bass and used to raise thousands in donations. Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon, 41, living in South Los Angeles, now faces federal charges of conspiracy and making false statements to law enforcement. She faces up to five years in prison if convicted.
The Department of Justice stated that Calderon, along with accomplices, concocted a false story in which she was allegedly abducted by ICE “bounty hunters” and held in a warehouse to force her self-deportation. The tale quickly gained traction after KTLA ran a sympathetic piece claiming she was a “mother and community leader” who had been wrongfully detained.
Mayor Karen Bass shared the unverified claims in a July 1 post on X, writing, “She’s a mother from L.A. — taken out of her car on her way to work, and then held in a warehouse… No hearing. Just fear. This doesn’t make anyone safer.” The post cited the KTLA article and fueled further media coverage and protest events.
However, the Department of Homeland Security immediately called the story “clearly fabricated.” Federal investigators later confirmed that Calderon was never in ICE custody. According to the criminal affidavit, Calderon and others planned the hoax for “pecuniary gain,” including through a GoFundMe page set up by her daughter, which raised $4,500 under false pretenses.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent Eddy Wang condemned the deception, saying, “The real cost of a fraud like this is the amount of fentanyl not seized, child predators not removed… because law enforcement redirected resources.” He stressed that fraudsters would be prosecuted fully.
