Utah couple arrested, accused of smuggling $300M in oil into US from Mexico

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

A Utah couple was arrested for smuggling $300M worth of oil into the U.S. from Mexico.
James and Kelly Jensen allegedly laundered money from illegal oil imports since 2022.
U.S. Marshals raided their $9.1M Sandy mansion and Arroyo Terminals business in Texas.

SANDY — A Utah couple is being accused of money laundering and smuggling oil into the U.S. from Mexican cartels, after they were arrested during a multistate raid by U.S. Marshals, according to court documents.

James Lael Jensen and his wife, Kelly Anne Jensen, were booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Wednesday. 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 family is accused of moving at least $300 million worth of oil from Mexico to the U.S.

The couple was arrested at their 26,893-square-foot mansion in Sandy, valued at $9.1 million, 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

The U.S. District Court of Utah's detention documents allege the Jensens and their two sons, Max Jensen and Zachary Jensen, 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 organizations. James Jensen was aware that the payments he made were going to these Mexican criminal organizations."

The charges state that the money laundering and illegal imports began in May 2022.

The couple's arrest occurred the same day as a raid on James Jensen's company, Arroyo Terminals in Rio Hondo, Texas, near the Mexican border. The raid was reported by multiple Texas news outlets, and the company's website was privatized as of Friday.

Undated photo of James Jensen taken from his company website, Arroyo Terminals. (Photo: Arroyo Terminals)

U.S. District Court ordered the Jensens to forfeit any money gained from the smuggled oil, including their company, an additional home listed for the family in Draper, as well as bank accounts, oil tankers and new cars totaling $300 million.

Despite documents filed requesting James Jensen be held without bail due to the possible flight risk he poses, he was scheduled to be released from jail Friday morning, under GPS surveillance.

KSL-TV observed James Jensen in his Sandy neighborhood, back at home, late Friday morning.

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