An 18-count superseding indictment was unsealed yesterday in the Southern District of Texas charging 20 defendants – all alleged Free Money gang members and associates from Houston – with federal crimes, including racketeering (RICO) conspiracy, murder and attempted murder in aid of racketeering, Hobbs Act Robbery, and related firearm and drug offenses.
According to court documents, members and associates of Free Money, a violent, Houston-based street gang, used violence and intimidation to control their territory and retaliated against rival gang members, including by conducting numerous drive-by shootings, and raised money through drug trafficking and robberies.
“This twenty-defendant indictment alleges that the Free Money gang terrorized the streets of Houston with drive-by and calculated shootings, often in public places like grocery store parking lots, putting countless lives in danger,” 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 indictment unsealed yesterday 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,” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei for the Southern District of Texas (SDTX). “That ends now. 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.”
“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 Jason Hudson of the FBI Houston Field Office. “Yesterday’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.”
According to court documents and statements made in court, on June 24, 2022, in broad daylight, surveillance video captured defendants Terry Ardoin, 24, and Travonte Ardoin, 28, as they followed a Chevrolet Equinox into a shopping center parking lot. The driver of the Equinox entered a nearby store while the passenger remained in the vehicle. When the driver returned, the video showed the Ardoins exiting their vehicle wearing masks and opening fire on both individuals. Multiple rounds struck the Equinox’s passenger compartment, killing the passenger.
Surveillance Video of Defendants
Free Money members hunted for rival gang members throughout Houston and were indiscriminate when they attacked. For instance, on Aug. 3, 2022, defendant Shakeil Anderson, 23, and other Free Money members allegedly drove past and shot repeatedly into the home of the grandmother of a perceived rival gang member.
The gang allegedly financed the buying of guns and provided money to jailed fellow gang members through robberies and drug sales. For example, on June 3, 2024, defendant Walter Tolbert, 21, and other Free Money members allegedly stole jewelry, Sony PlayStations, and money from a pawn store, robbing the store employees at gunpoint.
The gang also targeted rival gangs for robberies. On Aug. 14, 2022, Free Money members and associates attempted to rob a rival gang member’s drug stash house and kill the inhabitants. Defendants Joci Barley, 26; Terrel Davis,28; Walter Tolbert; Shakeil 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 of the drug stash house while at a Free Money meeting during which they avowed to “kill and do everything they needed to do” to rob the drugs and money they believed were in the house even knowing that the house was likely occupied. Luckily, law enforcement was able to stop the home invasion while the robbers were driving to the stash house location. During the police chase, Travonte Ardoin threw a gun out of his car window.
The gang allegedly also trafficked in crack cocaine, cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana. As alleged, defendant Orlando Calloway, 52, supplied crack cocaine to the gang by cooking cocaine the gang ordered.
FBI 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.
Trial Attorney Ralph Paradiso of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Brown for the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime Initiative to prosecute violent crimes in Houston. The Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas have partnered, along with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, to confront violent crimes gang members and associates have committed through the enforcement of federal laws and use of federal resources to prosecute violent offenders and prevent further violence.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.