Texas Border Business
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas
HOUSTON – An 18-count superseding indictment has been unsealed charging 20 alleged members and associates of a violent Houston-based street gang for their purported roles in a racketeering conspiracy (RICO) involving murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, drug trafficking and firearms offenses. Law enforcement arrested 10 of the defendants today and they will be presented before a United States Magistrate Judge in Houston on these charges this week. The remaining ten defendants are already in custody on related federal charges.
According to court documents, members and associates of Free Money allegedly engaged in acts of violence, intimidation, drive-by shootings and murder to further the gang’s criminal enterprise. The indictment alleges Terry Ardoin, 24, and Travonte Ardoin, 28, both of Houston, committed a murder in connection with an ongoing gang war with a rival group.
“The indictment unsealed today alleges that the Free Money gang engaged in a campaign of robbery, drug trafficking, and armed violence to intimidate their rivals and terrorize the people of Houston. That ends now,” said United States Attorney Nicholas Ganjei of the Southern District of Texas. “Houstonians should be able to live their lives without fear of either themselves or their loved ones being robbed, maimed, or caught in the crossfire of gang warfare. SDTX’s message on this point is clear and unmistakable: if you’re thinking of engaging in violent, criminal conduct on a Houston street, think again. The Southern District has your number.”
“This gang terrorized the streets of Houston with their drive-by shootings in public places like grocery store parking lots and with their brazen, armed robberies,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “These brazen tactics show the wide-ranging danger posed by violent gangs. The Criminal Division will continue to prioritize investigations and prosecutions of violent gang members so that innocent Americans get what they deserve – their communities restored and their lives unencumbered by the fear and carnage that these gangs perpetuate.”
“The sheer number of murders and shootings these individuals are suspected of freely carrying out for years, and the level of indiscriminate violence they’re accused of executing is alarming,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Houston Field Office Jason Hudson. “Today’s coordinated arrests across Houston are the result of years-long investigations by our FBI Houston team and our partners. We hope the residents of the Houston neighborhoods they terrorized can rest a little easier knowing that these individuals are ‘free’ no more.”
On June 24, 2022, in broad daylight, the Ardoins allegedly followed a Chevrolet Equinox carrying two individuals into a shopping center parking lot while driving a black Nissan Altima. After the driver entered a nearby store and the passenger remained inside the vehicle, the Ardoins allegedly exited the Altima wearing masks and opened fired on the vehicle. Multiple rounds struck the passenger compartment. Law enforcement responded within minutes and found one victim deceased.
The indictment alleges Free Money members targeted rival gang members throughout Houston. On Aug. 3, 2022, Shakeil Anderson, 23, and other alleged Free Money members fired multiple rounds into the home of the grandmother of a perceived rival gang member.
According to the charges, the gang allegedly financed firearms purchases and provided money to incarcerated members through robberies and drug sales. On June 3, 2024, Walter Tolbert, 21, and other alleged Free Money members allegedly robbed a pawn shop at gunpoint, stealing jewelry, Sony PlayStations and cash.
The indictment also alleges Free Money members targeted rival gangs for robbery. On Aug. 14, 2022, several alleged members attempted to rob a rival gang member’s stash house and kill the occupants. Joci Barley, 26, Terrel Davis, 28, Tolbert, Anderson, Jakobe Anderson, 24, Chase Franklin-Williams, 21, Terry Adroin, Travonte Ardoin, Deandre Thompson, 22, Emery Goodley, 26, Jymonte McClendon, 28, and Maurkael Brown, 31, allegedly planned the robbery during a gang meeting, during which they stated they would “kill and do everything they needed to do” to obtain the drugs and money they believed were inside, despite knowing the home was likely occupied.
Law enforcement stopped the group while en route to the location, according to the charges. During the subsequent pursuit, Travonte Ardoin allegedly threw a firearm from the vehicle.
The indictment further alleges the gang trafficked crack cocaine, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. Orlando Calloway, 52, allegedly supplied crack cocaine to the gang by converting powder cocaine for redistribution.
The defendants face maximum sentences of life in prison for the RICO charges, and from ten years to life in prison on the drug trafficking and firearms charges. In addition, defendants Terry Ardoin and Travante Ardoin each face either mandatory life in prison or the death penalty if they are convicted of the charge of murder in aid of racketeering.
The FBI Houston field office and Houston Police Department conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hunter Brown and Trial Attorney Ralph Paradiso of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section are prosecuting the case.
This joint effort includes the U.S. Attorney’s Office and local, state and federal law enforcement and addresses violent crime by employing, where appropriate, federal laws to prosecute gang members in the southwest and southeast areas of Houston. As part of the initiative, the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division has also dedicated attorneys and other resources to prosecuting violent offenders and assisting intervention, prevention and reentry efforts to address the root causes of violent crime, such as narcotics trafficking.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Updated February 12, 2026
