EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A federal grand jury has charged five men in connection with an alleged scheme to steal crude from New Mexico oil fields and sell it from a yard in Carlsbad, New Mexico.
Maxwell Sterling Jensen, Thomas Rees, Christopher Ortega, Christian Contreras Varela and German Ortiz Santillano face charges of conspiracy, interstate transportation of stolen property and aiding and abetting in connection with thefts between March 12 and Aug. 22, 2025.
The FBI Field Office in Midland, Texas, learned of the scheme in June, when a confidential informant said he had learned Jensen allegedly was offering to pay employees of oil production companies for crude oil, records filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico show.
Crude oil business accused of fraudulent imports, 4 arrested during raid
FBI agents sought help from the Bureau of Land Management to monitor the yard on 7 Rivers Highway north of Carlsbad. A BLM special agent testified the yard received an average of 600 barrels of crude oil a day worth an estimated $39,000…