The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas (SDTX) reported that it collected a total of $148,149,674.47 in criminal, civil, and asset forfeiture actions during 2025. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
According to the office, $21.6 million was recovered in restitution for crime victims through criminal cases. Civil enforcement actions resulted in an additional $85.9 million collected for taxpayers. Asset forfeiture efforts brought in another $40.6 million, with those assets being deposited into the Department of Justice’s Asset Forfeiture Fund to help restore funds to crime victims and support law enforcement activities.
Ganjei stated: “The Southern District of Texas’ mission is not only to protect the physical safety of our fellow citizens, but also to safeguard the taxpayer from fraud and abuse. Over the past year, my office has pursued an aggressive enforcement strategy to recover debts owed to crime victims and the American people. Those efforts have proven successful. The funds we recovered represent the delivery of justice and concrete results for taxpayers,” said Ganjei. “By imposing considerable financial penalties on offenders, my office will continue to make crime more costly and less profitable. Our case results send a loud and unequivocal message to would-be offenders: crime doesn’t pay.”
Among significant cases contributing to these collections was one involving Emylee Thai, who allegedly operated a laboratory that submitted false claims for unnecessary genetic testing to Medicare using kickbacks and fraudulent documentation. After she left the country halting her prosecution, SDTX filed a civil forfeiture action seeking about $5 million in property linked to her scheme; a default judgment allowed authorities to seize those properties.
Another ongoing matter involves alleged Medicare fraud totaling approximately $90 million in fraudulent billing by David Jenson and Nestor Rafael Romero Magallanes from Spring, Texas. They are accused of billing Medicare for skin substitute products for patients without qualifying wounds or any wounds at all while falsifying medical records as evidence for these claims. Authorities seized about $83 million believed tied to this fraud—nearly $70 million held as cryptocurrency—and are seeking further forfeitures as part of both criminal prosecution and parallel civil proceedings.
A separate case from South Texas involves Maxwell Sterling Jensen of Draper, Utah, and James Lael Jensen of Sandy, Utah—two family members charged with illicit oil importation, money laundering, and providing material support to Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (a designated foreign terrorist organization). They allegedly funneled U.S currency into cartel operations while facilitating illegal crude oil shipments into the United States; prosecutors seek an estimated $300 million money judgment along with seizure of various assets including vehicles and real estate.
The U.S Attorneys’ Offices work alongside Department litigating divisions enforcing collection on civil/criminal debts owed federally or directly affecting federal crime victims through restitution requirements or fines directed toward victim compensation programs.
The Southern District covers 43 counties across over 44,000 square miles with a population exceeding nine million people; Assistant U.S Attorneys from seven regional divisions collaborate closely with federal state/local law enforcement agencies on these matters.
