A Los Angeles woman has been found guilty by a court of falsely claiming to be a victim of a kidnapping by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
A 43-year-old Mexican national, Yuriana Julia Peláez Calderón, has pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to interfere with the lawful functions of the Department of Homeland Security's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) within federal jurisdiction, according to a Department of Justice press release issued on October 26, 2026.
A Mexican national residing in South Los Angeles has entered a guilty plea for orchestrating a false kidnapping incident in 2023, which she claimed was perpetrated by federal agents.
A kidnapping incident was reported in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in which two men were apprehended at a Jack in the Box restaurant parking lot. The incident occurred during a period of heightened ICE raids in southern California.
