A business owner from Victoria, Texas, has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for conspiring to commit money laundering. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Jason Ashley Brannan, 48, pleaded guilty on November 5, 2025. He will serve his sentence followed by one year of supervised release. In addition to prison time, Brannan was ordered to pay a $25,000 fine and agreed to forfeit $590,290.44.
Brannan operated J & B Cleaning Inc. and Hills Lawn & Tree Service in Victoria. According to court documents, between September 2023 and May 2024 he laundered about $590,000 and involved two other individuals in the scheme. He believed he was working for a cartel engaged in heroin trafficking.
Brannan wrote business checks with false memo lines such as “Poker Cash Game,” “Mexico Deer Lease,” and “Carbonia Duck Lodge Mexico.” He intended to claim that the deposited cash came from gambling winnings if questioned by authorities and also attempted to acquire kilogram quantities of cocaine.
The investigation was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patti Booth and Tyler Foster prosecuted the case.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas is part of the U.S. Department of Justice and operates under the Attorney General’s office. This district covers 43 counties with a population exceeding nine million people and employs more than 200 attorneys across offices in Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, Laredo, McAllen, and Brownsville (official website). The office prosecutes federal crimes and handles civil cases on behalf of the government (official website). Notable former leaders include Alamdar Hamdani (2022–2025) and Ryan Patrick (official history page).
