The Brief Three executives at Vallee Oil and Gas are facing federal charges related to an oil-theft ring in West Texas. The indictments come after a large-scale investigation in which six people were arrested and $12 million in assets were seized in August. Investigators say the fraud took place over the course of multiple years.



Three company executives at Vallee Oil and Gas are now facing federal charges related to their involvement in an oil-theft ring that was operating out of West Texas, the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday.

What we know:

Leandro Juarez, the president of Vallee Oil, along with the head of Vallee's West Texas operations, Moses Juarez, and principal yard manager, Eduardo Lopez, are accused of devising a scheme to purchase crude oil that had been stolen from parts of New Mexico and transported into Texas.

Authorities said Texas-based Vallee Oil was documented as a salt water disposal, giving the company the ability to accept and dispose of produced water, but that they did not have the authority to purchase crude oil.

According to investigators, the three executives directed their employees to pay drivers hauling the oil around half the value of the product. They would issue these payments in smaller increments to try to evade reporting requirements, officials noted.

Timeline:

The FBI began investigating the company in January 2024. Authorities said they learned the fraud spanned years, beginning around Sept. 20, 2023, and stretching to at least Feb. 18, 2025.


Dig deeper:

Leandro Juarez, Moses Juarez, and Lopez were arrested in August and later released on bond. They face charges for one count of conspiracy to receive stolen goods and three counts of receipt of stolen goods, aiding and abetting, according to federal prosecutors.

Officials said Leandro and Moses Juarez were also charged with additional counts of conspiracy to engage in monetary transactions with funds derived from a specified unlawful activity.

Three others were arrested in connection with the investigation in August, though their names have not yet been released. I

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