SAN ANTONIO – A paralegal specialist working in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas is accused of helping a suspected drug cartel member and obstructing federal investigations, according to federal court records.
Jennifer Loya, the paralegal arrested on Friday, is charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
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Loya is accused of “disclosing sensitive law enforcement information pertaining to active (Drug Enforcement Administration) to members of Drug Trafficking Organizations," including her brother-in-law, Roland Gustamante.
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Gustamante is a suspected associate of Cartel de Noreste, a cartel that smuggles narcotics from Mexico.
When federal agents conducted a search warrant for narcotics in February in connection with the investigation, they only found a small amount of narcotics.
One of the suspects told police that they were alerted that a search warrant was going to be executed by a woman named “Maria," who told them they were targets of a DEA investigation.
In March, another person informed investigators that Gustamante has a sister-in-law who works for the U.S. government as a paralegal. The witness told agents that the paralegal provided information to Gustamante about law enforcement activity.
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Investigators began looking into Loya, and discovered she printed documents pertaining to the investigation, according to court documents.
Loya, along with her sister, Gustamante, and other associates, were arrested last week, records showed.
Loya’s bond was set at $50,000, court records showed.