An illegal alien from Mexico has been charged with orchestrating a phony kidnapping, claiming Immigration and Customs Enforcement nabbed her in the parking lot of a Jack in the Box restaurant. Now she’s actually in custody.

The United States District Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California put out a news release Thursday, saying 41-year-old Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon of South Los Angeles is charged with both conspiracy and making false statements to federal officers.

According to an affidavit, Calderon’s attorney held a news conference on June 30, claiming she had been kidnapped by ICE five days earlier in the parking lot of a Jack in the Box in downtown Los Angeles.

Local news media eagerly filmed the angry activists who gathered to protest. The woman’s tearful children held signs saying, “Our Mom is Missing.”

The attorney said Calderon was driven more than two hours south to San Ysidro, near the Mexican border, where an ICE staffer supposedly gave her paperwork for self-deportation.

According to the story, Calderon refused to fill it out, saying she wanted to speak to a lawyer and a judge. She claimed she was “punished” for her lack of cooperation and was taken to a warehouse in an undisclosed location and held with many others.

Press conference for Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon who was taken by immigration agents outside Jack in the Box on Wednesday June 25th in Los Angeles.

The family says since she was taken they can’t find her. pic.twitter.com/ATvUQUeA5K

— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) June 30, 2025

Calderon’s daughter set up a GoFundMe page, asking for $4,500 because her mother “was taken by masked men in an unmarked vehicle … when she was on her way to work.”

The federal criminal complaint says that none of this ever happened.

When Calderon was reported missing, the federal agency searched its records and confirmed ICE did not have her in custody.

As the story garnered more and more media attention, Homeland Security Investigations began searching for her over the Fourth of July weekend.

Agents found her in a shopping mall plaza in Bakersfield — nearly five hours north of San Ysidro and two hours north of Calderon’s home in Los Angeles — on July 5.

Investigators located surveillance video showing Calderon leaving Jack in the Box in a car. Along with phone records, officials were able to entirely debunk the claim she had been taken by ICE.

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

United States Attorney Bill Essayli had stern words in light of this scheme. “Dangerous rhetoric that ICE agents are ‘kidnapping’ illegal immigrants is being recklessly peddled by politicians and echoed in the media to inflame the public and discredit our courageous federal agents.

“The conduct alleged in today’s complaint shows this hoax ‘kidnapping’ was a well-orchestrated conspiracy. The defendant and all those involved will face the full consequences of their conduct under federal law.”

HSI Los Angeles Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang spoke about the time and effort he and his agents wasted on Calderon.

“Diverting critical law enforcement resources is not only reckless and irresponsible, but it also endangers the community,” Wang said. “Since early July, my office invested valuable time and resources working this alleged kidnapping investigation, only to discover that it was a hoax.

“We want to assure the public that allegations of criminal activity will be thoroughly investigated by HSI and our law enforcement partners and that those who engage in fraud and deception will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

GoFundMe issued a statement to KTLA-TV about the money raised.

“GoFundMe has zero tolerance for the misuse of our platform, or any attempt to exploit the generosity of others, and cooperates with law enforcement investigations of those accused of wrongdoing. This fundraiser was removed from the platform and the $80 raised was refunded; at no point did the organizer have access to any of the funds.”

According to KTLA, Calderon faces five years for each charge against her.

She wanted to be in custody so bad; she got her wish.

Stories like this only inflame tensions and make the work ICE is doing more dangerous.

With tales like Calderon’s floating around, it’s likely we’re going to see more attacks on agents. That means more riots and more terrorist attacks on federal property.

Although a completely reckless and dumb scheme, it is not unlike the various race hoaxes seen in the wake of Michael Brown‘s shooting in 2014 or other racialized news stories.

Some people love the spotlight and find it empowering. In this culture, empowerment comes through victimhood.

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