An illegal immigrant from Mexico has been accused by federal authorities of orchestrating a fake Immigration and Customs Enforcement “kidnapping,” allegedly to generate public sympathy and solicit donations.
Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon, a 41-year-old Mexican national living in South Los Angeles, was federally charged with conspiracy and making false statements to federal officers, according to a Department of Justice press release issued Thursday.
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On June 30, an attorney representing Calderon’s family held a press conference announcing that bounty hunters had kidnapped her five days earlier at a Jack in the Box restaurant parking lot before she was turned over to an ICE staffer and presented with voluntary self-deportation paperwork. Calderon refused to sign the papers and demanded to speak to an attorney, the family lawyer said. “She was punished” as a result and allegedly held hostage in a warehouse at an undisclosed location.
The news conference garnered national media attention. Meanwhile, Calderon’s daughter set up a since-deleted GoFundMe page, requesting at least $4,500 in donations and stating that her mother “was taken by masked men in an unmarked vehicle…when she was on her way to work.”
According to a criminal complaint charging Calderon, the entire story was fabricated.
On July 3, when she was still purportedly missing, concerns mounted after federal agents confirmed that Calderon was not in immigration custody. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) started searching for Calderon over the holiday weekend.
According to federal officials, on July 5, HSI agents tracked Calderon down in the parking lot of a Bakersfield shopping plaza. Upon apprehension, Calderon allegedly continued to falsely claim she was taken and detained with others.
Authorities allege that video surveillance, including footage of Calderon leaving the Jack in the Box parking lot and getting into a nearby sedan, as well as telephone records, show that she concocted this made-up story.
Calderon allegedly created what law enforcement believes to be fabricated photos of her “rescue,” made to look like she was abused while in ICE custody, and planned to hold a press conference on July 6 in order to rake in more GoFundMe donations and obtain other benefits.
Calderon now remains in U.S. immigration custody and is expected to make an initial appearance in the coming weeks before a federal court in downtown Los Angeles. If convicted, Calderon faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for conspiracy and up to another five years behind bars on the false statements charge.
“Since early July, my office invested valuable time and resources working this alleged kidnapping investigation only to discover that it was a hoax,” HSI Los Angeles special agent in charge Eddy Wang said in a statement.
“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,” U.S. attorney Bill Essayli added.
Essayli called the alleged kidnapping hoax “a well-orchestrated conspiracy,” warning that all those involved will face justice under federal law.
The department’s Transnational Organized Crime Section is prosecuting the case.
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In a press release responding to news of Calderon’s arrest, Homeland Security said, “Liars like Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon are fueling an 830% increase in assaults against ICE.”
According to Homeland Security, ICE spent days investigating the kidnapping claims and looking for her, at times searching detention cell to detention cell.