Federal agents arrested a Utah oil tycoon and his family for allegedly working with Mexican cartels to smuggle over $300 million worth of crude oil into the United States.
“James Lael Jensen and his wife, Kelly Anne Jensen, were booked into the Salt Lake County Jail,” KSLTV reported last month.
“The couple and two of his sons are being federally indicted for allegedly conspiring to smuggle 2,881 shipments of oil from Mexico that they knew were illegal,” the outlet stated.
U.S. Marshals made the arrest during a multi-state raid.
BREAKING: Utah oil tycoon James Jensen and wife Kelly arrested in a dramatic raid on their $9.2M mansion for allegedly smuggling $300M in oil from Mexico with cartel help. pic.twitter.com/bHPEahzFC6
— TaraBull (@TaraBull808) May 12, 2025
Per KSLTV:
The couple was arrested on Wednesday at their 26,893 square foot mansion in Sandy, according to a person close to the situation, who requested they be kept anonymous due to cartel involvement. The source said the U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Apprehension Team showed up, with a battering ram in tow — a tool used by SWAT teams to breach doors, concrete and brick walls.
ADVERTISEMENTAccording to a Salt Lake County database search, the home is valued at $9.1 million.
The U.S. District Court of Utah’s detention documents allege James and Kelly Jensen, and their two sons, Max and Zachary, conspired to “launder proceeds from sales of illegally imported crude oil. The payments for this crude oil were directed to businesses in Mexico that operate only through the permission of Mexican criminal organization. James Jensen was aware that the payments he made were going to these Mexican criminal organizations.”
The charges state the money laundering and illegal imports began in May 2022.
James Lael Jensen, wife, Kelly Anne Jensen & their 2 son sarrested for money laundering & smuggling oil into the U.S. alongside Mexican cartels worth at least $300 million.https://t.co/A7DKwf4mvr
— TruthSocial: @HoneeDesigner (@HoneeDesigner) April 27, 2025
From the New York Post:
“They were unwilling to come out,” Assistant US Attorney Michael Hess said of the family, which has deep political ties — Kelly’s father, Gordon Walker, worked in the US Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Ronald Reagan, while her mother, Carlene Walker, was a Utah state senator, according to KVEO.
Just days earlier on April 17, the Jensens were indicted on charges they conspired to buy and smuggle more than 2,800 shipments of stolen oil from Mexico into the US as part of an alleged scheme that began three years ago, according to the feds.
The Jensens’ company made payments for the crude oil to “businesses in Mexico that operate only through the permission of Mexican criminal organizations,” according to the feds.
The feds alleged the family used their ill-gotten gains to buy a new home and cars — and have moved to seize them.
Their sons Zachary and Max were also allegedly in on it and were also indicted, though it is unclear if they were arrested at the mountainside mansion with their parents.
ADVERTISEMENTThe family owns and operates Arroyo Terminals, a Texas company that buys and sells crude oil at a property just miles from the US border in Rio Hondo.
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