Utah Family Arrested For Aiding Suspected Cartel Members Smuggle $300M Worth Of Crude Oil Into The U.S.

A Utah family living south of Salt Lake City is making headlines after being arrested and indicted on federal charges in connection with a scheme to smuggle crude oil from Mexico into the United States.

James Jensen and his wife Kelly were booked into the Salt Lake County Jail after authorities executed an arrest warrant at their $9.1 million mansion. The couple is accused of conspiring to smuggle 2,881 shipments of crude oil from Mexico.

A person close to the situation who requested anonymity due to cartel involvement told KSL 5 TV that the U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Apprehension Team showed up at their 26,893-square-foot mansion in Sandy, Utah, with a battering ram.

Court documents filed in U.S. District Court in Utah claim that James and Kelly Jensen, along with their two sons, Max and Zachary, conspired to "launder proceeds from the sale of illegally imported crude oil" on behalf of Mexican criminal organizations. Records indicate that payments for the oil were funneled to businesses in Mexico believed to be controlled by drug cartels, and that James Jensen was aware of these connections.

The Jensen family owns and operates a crude oil trading company in Rio Hondo, Texas, a small community about 30 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. Federal agents raided their business, Arroyo Terminals, last week, and two days later the company's website was taken offline and placed under government control.

According to the indictment, the Jensen family began laundering money and illegally importing crude oil in May 2022. Authorities allege that more than $47 million was transferred from businesses operated by James and Kelly Jensen to "Mexican businesses" during that time.

If convicted, the family would be required to forfeit approximately $300 million in assets, including bank accounts and their Texas-based company.

Although prosecutors requested that James Jensen be held without bail due to flight risk, he was released from jail on April 25 under GPS monitoring. Similarly, Kelly Jensen was also released from federal custody under conditions that included surrendering her passport.

Max and Zachary Jensen appeared in federal court in Brownsville, Texas, on April 24. Both are being held without bond pending detention hearings scheduled for April 29.