An undocumented immigrant who lives in South Los Angeles pleaded not guilty today to federal charge alleging she invented a story that she was “kidnapped” at gunpoint by masked immigration officers or bounty hunters and held hostage in a warehouse.
Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon, 41, is charged with conspiracy and making false statements to federal officers, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
At her arraignment in downtown Los Angeles, a trial date of Oct. 21 was set.
An attorney representing Calderon’s family held a press conference June 30 to announce the woman had been kidnapped five days earlier at a Jack in the Box restaurant parking lot in downtown Los Angeles and brought to San Ysidro, where she was presented to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement staffer and handed voluntary self-deportation paperwork.
The attorney said Calderon had refused to sign the paperwork and demanded to speak to a judge and a lawyer. In response, the lawyer said, “she was punished” by federal agents and sent to a warehouse in an undisclosed location where she was abused.
Prosecutors said the press conference garnered media attention and stoked fear in the community. Meanwhile, Calderon’s daughter set up a GoFundMe page, requesting $4,500 and stating that Calderon “was taken by masked men in an unmarked vehicle … when she was on her way to work.”
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the entire story was false and designed to generate sympathy and solicit donations. In July, the Department of Homeland Security released a statement saying the story was created to malign the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.
“Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon was never arrested or kidnapped by ICE or bounty hunters — this criminal illegal alien scammed innocent Americans for money and diverted limited DHS resources from removing the worst of the worst from Los Angeles communities,” DHS said. “Politicians and activist media peddled these smears that were designed to demonize law enforcement and evade accountability. Calderon will now face justice and the media and politicians who swallowed and pushed this garbage should be embarrassed.”
Attorneys for Calderon’s family who discussed the case at the press conference did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
On July 3, when Calderon was still purportedly missing, federal agents “grew concerned” after confirming that Calderon was not in immigration custody, federal prosecutors said, and Homeland Security Investigations personnel began searching for Calderon over the July 4 holiday weekend.
On July 5, agents tracked Calderon down in a shopping plaza parking lot in Bakersfield. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Mexican national and self-described activist continued to falsely claim she was taken by masked men and held in custody with others.
Prosecutors said video surveillance — including images of Calderon leaving the Jack in the Box parking lot and getting into a nearby sedan — as well as telephone records, bolster suspicions that Calderon fabricated the
entire story.
“Calderon and her family knew that law enforcement was searching for her and feared for her safety, but Calderon and her family did not come forward,” according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Instead, Calderon created what law enforcement alleges were fabricated photos of her “rescue,” made to look as if she was abused while in federal immigration custody and planned to hold a press conference on July 6 to increase donations to the GoFundMe page and to obtain other benefits, prosecutors said.
“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,” Acting
U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California said in a statement.
“The conduct alleged in (the) complaint shows this hoax `kidnapping’ was a well-orchestrated conspiracy,” he continued. “The defendant and all those involved will face the full consequences of their conduct under federal
law. I thank our partners at Homeland Security Investigations and all federal agents facing unprecedented levels of assaults for once again providing cool heads and professionalism during these difficult times.”
If convicted of both charges, Calderon would face up to 10 years in federal prison, prosecutors noted.