Yuriana Pelaez Calderón pleads guilty to fake Border Patrol kidnapping plot

Yuriana Pelaez Calderón admitted on Monday to faking her own abduction by federal agents.

Calderón, 43, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to impede, obstruct, impair and defeat the lawful function of Homeland Security Investigations within federal jurisdiction. Her sentencing hearing is set for Feb. 8, 2027. The plea concludes a two-month scheme that began in June 2025.

Officials said Calderón used anonymous and blocked phone calls to construct a false narrative. On June 25, 2025, she told a contact that immigration officials were taking her into custody near a fast-food restaurant. She claimed agents threatened to break her vehicle window. Two days later, she contacted a tenants' rights advocate using caller ID blocking. She alleged authorities had taken her to San Ysidro and forced her to sign deportation papers. On that same day, she told another person she was being held in an unknown warehouse with other detainees.

The fabricated story spread to media outlets and law enforcement. Reports described Calderón as a victim of masked men in plain clothes driving an unmarked vehicle. Community organizers in Bakersfield demanded her release based on these claims. Calderón remained hidden in Bakersfield while the false information circulated. On July 3, 2025, she called another individual using a blocked number. She claimed media coverage would soon lead to her release.

Calderón traveled from Bakersfield to Tulare County that day to stage her escape. She approached a local resident to serve as a witness for her case. She altered her appearance to suggest mistreatment during custody. A co-conspirator photographed the changes. For two days following the staged release, Calderón turned off her phones and ignored calls from investigators. The Office of First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli announced the plea. Calderón faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.