A Utah oil magnate was arrested alongside along with his spouse in a dramatic raid on their opulent 27,000-square-foot mansion after allegedly smuggling greater than $300 million price of oil from Mexico to the US with the assistance of drug cartels, in line with reviews.
James and Kelly Jensen had been arrested on April 23 by US Marshals, who used battering rams to bust via the doorways of the couple’s $9.2 million mansion in exterior Salt Lake Metropolis, KSLTV reported.
“They had been unwilling to come back out,” Assistant US Lawyer Michael Hess mentioned of the household, which has deep political ties — Kelly’s father, Gordon Walker, labored within the US Division of Housing and City Improvement beneath President Ronald Reagan, whereas her mom, Carlene Walker, was a Utah state Senator, in line with KVEO.
Simply days earlier on April 17, the Jensens had been indicted on fees they conspired to purchase and smuggle greater than 2,800 shipments of stolen oil from Mexico into the US as a part of an alleged scheme that started three years in the past, in line with the feds.
The Jensens’ firm made funds for the crude oil to “companies in Mexico that function solely via the permission of Mexican legal organizations,” in line with the feds.
The feds alleged the household used their ill-gotten beneficial properties to purchase a brand new house and vehicles — and have moved to grab them.
Their sons Zachary and Max, had been additionally allegedly in on it and had been additionally indicted, although it’s unclear in the event that they had been arrested on the mountainside mansion with their mother and father.
The household owns and operates Arroyo Terminals, a Texas firm that buys and sells crude oil at a property simply miles from the US border in Rio Hondo.
Arroyo Terminals was raided by federal brokers on the identical day that the household was arrested, with staff being handcuffed and questioned in regards to the enterprise’ practices.
“We don’t find out about that,” one worker instructed CBS 4 Information after the raid. “We’re simply answerable for unloading the vehicles and loading the barges.”
“Relating to the side of understanding the place this oil’s coming from or what firm or what a part of Mexico or something like that, we had been all the time out of the loop,” one other work instructed Border Report.
The Jensens had been detained and brought to the Salt Lake Metropolis Jail, however regardless of prosecutors’ fears of being a flight danger had been again house inside days after their lawyer, John Huber, agued that they had deep roots in the neighborhood and weren’t going anyplace.
“They’re lively of their church. They’re lively of their group. They arrive from a stalwart Utah household,” Huber mentioned. “[James’] in-laws have served in public service for many years and so they don’t need to throw that each one out of the window.”
Huber additionally disputed the feds’ declare that the household refused to come back simply in the course of the raid.
“Mr. Jensen and Mrs. Jensen’s story about that may be very completely different,” Huber mentioned, claiming the couple agreed to come back out however that the feds busted down their door anyway.
The household enterprise was beforehand accused by of shopping for stolen oil in 2011.
In that case, James Jensen was sued by a Mexican government-owned oil firm for allegedly travelling to Mexico to purchase gasoline from cartels. Jensen denied all wrongdoing and that case was dropped two years later.
After their April arrest, the Jensens had been ordered to forfeit all cash they’d earned from the alleged scheme, together with new vehicles, a second house, their enterprise, and financial institution accounts — all price about $300 million, KSLTV reported.
Each sons pleaded not responsible.
All had been additionally charged with cash laundering spending conspiracy, and aiding and abetting smuggling items into the US.
They withstand 20 years in federal jail if convicted.