A Los Angeles illegal immigrant from Mexico admitted guilt in federal court after making up a bogus ICE kidnapping story that was meant to smear federal officers.

Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderón, 43, pleaded guilty Monday to staging a fake kidnapping where she said bounty hunters took her at gunpoint and tried forcing her to self-deport outside a Jack in the Box.

“On June 25, 2025, Calderón falsely told an individual that ‘immigration’ was taking her while in or near a fast-food restaurant and that immigration officials had ‘turned the lights on,’ ‘threatened to break her window’ and were taking her into custody,” a DOJ press release wrote.

Yuriana Julia “Juli” Pelaez Calderón pleaded guilty to staging a fake kidnapping designed to entrap ICE officers. KTLA 5

The 43-year-old woman said bounty hunters took her at gunpoint and tried forcing her to self-deport outside a Jack in the Box. U.S. Department of Justice

“Two days later, Calderón called another individual, who was a member of a tenants’ rights group, using the caller ID blocking feature on her telephone and falsely claimed she had been taken by ‘authorities’ to San Ysidro where Calderón and others were pressured to sign voluntary removal documents,” the release further said.

She also called a third person and claimed that she was moved to an unknown warehouse where she was being held with other detainees.

Daughters Jennifer and Angie stand next to a picture of their mother, Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderón, as lawyer Stephano Medina and community members hold a press conference. REUTERS

The June 2025 protest concerned the whereabouts of Calderón, following what community members and relatives describe as her abduction by men in unmarked cars and of unknown affiliation. REUTERS

Calderón’s family and attorneys then held a press conference on June 30 of last year spewing her lies, which brought about false media coverage.

Despite knowing about the false coverage, Calderón remained silent and even changed her appearance to make it seem like she had been mistreated. She also decided to stage her fake release and turned off her phone from July 3 to July 5.

“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,” United States Attorney Bill Essayli said last year.

Calderón was spotted at a shopping plaza parking lot on July 5. KTLA 5

She was seen walking around despite claiming she had been kidnapped. KTLA 5

A GoFundMe was created but has since been deleted.

The 43 year old was eventually found in a shopping plaza parking lot in Bakersfield on July 5 but continued to assert she had been kidnapped.

Calderón finally admitted guilt to one count of conspiracy to “impede, obstruct, impair, and defeat the lawful function of Homeland Security Investigations” and faces up to five years in federal prison at her sentencing hearing on Feb. 8, 2027.