SANDY — A Utah couple is being accused of money laundering and smuggling oil into the U.S. alongside Mexican cartels, after they were arrested during a multi-state 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 from Mexico to the U.S.
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.
A photo of James and Kelly Jensen’s mansion in Sandy, Utah, taken from Chopper5 on April 25, 2025. (Chopper5, KSL TV)
According 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.
A photo of James Jensen taken from his company website, Arroyo Terminals. (Arroyo Terminals)
The couple’s arrest occurred the same day as a raid on his 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.
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 for 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.