Wichita Falls bail bondsman Maxie Green arrested for human smuggling
WICHITA FALLS TX October 28 2022 Troubled Wichita Falls bondsman Maxie Green is back behind bars after he was arrested on Wednesday and charged with Engaging in Criminal Activity.
According to the arrest affidavit, in January 2022, Texas Rangers began investigating Green after they received information about his involvement in smuggling Undocumented Immigrants (UDIs) from the border regions of Texas and other parts of the United States to Wichita Falls.
The report said the investigation began in Ward County, Texas, where, during a traffic stop, 10 UDIs were found in a 1999 Dodge van. The driver, Jeffery Pierce Travis, said Juan Enrique Maldonado, John Thomas Gomez, Rahab Ontiveros and Maxie Green were involved in the human smuggling operation.
Multiple law enforcement agencies got involved and discovered Green’s involvement was to obtain transportation and provide stash houses in Wichita Falls for the UDIs.
Travis said he was told by Green to communicate through Maldonado regarding the transportation of the UDIs so that Green did not get too involved.
Travis told authorities his first trip to the border region was in September 2019, where he picked up several UDIs from Ecuador. He said he made his second trip in November, where he picked up 13 passengers.
He admitted to taking several to New York and Baltimore and said he was was paid $1,000 per trip.
Travis said he made his third trip to El Paso in December 2019, where he picked up 10 people and was arrested while returning to Wichita Falls.
He said he was paid $300 per passenger on his first two trips and $500 for his third. Travis told the authorities Green and Maldonado made between $10,000 and $15,000 per UDI he picked up.
The authorities investigated money transfers from Green to Travis. They discovered Green wired money from a Wichita Falls Walmart to Travis in El Paso.
Travis said he did not recall the money transfer but said he believed it would have been for travel expenses related to the transportation of the Undocumented Immigrants. Travis said he and Gomez traveled to El Paso to pick up UDIs, but their vehicle broke down.
During an interview with Charlie Nichole Bolf at the Wichita County Jail, Bolf said she made a trip to the border with a man she only knew as John, later identified as Gomez, to pick up five UDIs.
She said vehicle problems delayed their return to Wichita Falls. She said they took their passengers to a house in the 1600 block of Oceola Avenue, a property, according to tax records, that belongs to Green. She said she knew this trip was conducted by Green because he became angry when the trip took longer than expected.
Further investigation discovered Green was also involved with the repair of the broken down vehicle in El Paso and the purchase of a van in Burkburnett. Green was arrested on Wednesday, October 26.
He is charged with Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity. His bond was set at $100,000 by a judge.
Green, the owner of A to Z Bail Bonds, made local headlines when he hindered the apprehension of a known felon and was reportedly running his bail bond operation from behind bars.
