A Utah oil magnate and his family are free on bond as they await trial on federal money laundering charges tied to a complex cartel oil smuggling scheme. The family members are charged with smuggling more than $300 million in cartel oil into Texas and then selling it.
In recent days, James Leal Jensen, his wife Kelly Jensen, and their sons Maxwell and Zachary Jensen made various appearances at a federal courthouse in Brownsville, Texas, where they were able to bond out of jail as they await trial.
A U.S. magistrate judge set a bond for James at $200,000, Kelly at $100,000, and Zachary at $100,000. A judge denied a bond for Maxwell during initial hearings, but after several other hearings, he set his bond at $750,000. Court documents show that a 10 percent bond payment has been paid for each of the Jensen family members who have been released awaiting trial.
The four family members are named in a five-count indictment out of the Southern District of Texas, accusing them of helping them smuggle and move thousands of barrels of illegal oil from Mexico.
The oil was illegally smuggled using false documents claiming that it was waste products as a way to hide the origin of the product. Breitbart Texas reported that the oil is tied to Cartel Jalisco New Generation and the Gulf Cartel and was moved into the Jensen’s company, Arroyo Terminals, in South Texas. In a series of raids last month, authorities raided Arroyo Terminals, seizing thousands of barrels of oil, trucks, and other items. Similarly, late last month, authorities raided the Jensens’ mansion in Utah, where they initially arrested the couple.
As Breitbart Texas reported, soon after Jensen’s arrest and raids, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced a series of actions targeting stolen cartel oil operations. In these operations, stolen crude oil is smuggled into the United States disguised as waste to avoid scrutiny and evade taxes and regulations. That oil is then delivered to U.S. companies that sell it at a steep discount on the U.S. and global markets, with the proceeds going back to Mexico.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at
