Oil tycoon busted at lavish Utah mega-mansion, accused of working with Mexican cartels in $466 million scheme

Sky News AU

15-05-2025

A Utah oil magnate was arrested along with his wife in a dramatic raid on their opulent, 27,000-square-foot mansion after allegedly smuggling more than $300 million (AUD$466 million) worth of oil from Mexico to the US with the help of drug cartels, according to reports.
James and Kelly Jensen were arrested on April 23 by US Marshals, who used battering rams to bust through the doors of the couple's $9.2 million mansion outside Salt Lake City, KSLTV reported.
'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.
The 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.
Arroyo Terminals was raided by federal agents on the same day the family was arrested, with employees being handcuffed and questioned about the business's practices.
'We don't know about that,' one employee told CBS 4 News after the raid. 'We're just in charge of unloading the trucks and loading the barges.'
'When it comes to the aspect of knowing where this oil's coming from or what company or what part of Mexico or anything like that, we were always out of the loop,' another work told Border Report.
The Jensens were detained and taken to the Salt Lake City Jail, but despite prosecutors' fears of being a flight risk, were back home within days after their attorney, John Huber, agued they had deep roots in the community and weren't going anywhere.
'They're active in their church. They're active in their community. They come from a stalwart Utah family,' Huber said. '[James'] in-laws have served in public service for decades and they don't want to throw that all out of the window.'
Huber also disputed the feds' claim that the family refused to come easily during the raid.
'Mr. Jensen and Mrs. Jensen's story about that is very different,' Huber said, claiming the couple agreed to come out but that the feds busted down their door anyway.
The family business was previously accused of buying stolen oil in 2011.
In that case, James Jensen was sued by a Mexican government-owned oil company for allegedly traveling to Mexico to buy fuel from cartels. Jensen denied all wrongdoing and that case was dropped two years later.
After their April arrest, the Jensens were ordered to forfeit all money they'd earned from the alleged scheme, along with new cars, a second home, their business, and bank accounts — all worth about $300 million, KSLTV reported.
Both sons pleaded not guilty.
All were also charged with money laundering spending conspiracy, and aiding and abetting smuggling goods into the US.
They face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.
Originally published as Oil tycoon busted at lavish Utah mega-mansion, accused of working with Mexican cartels in $466 million scheme