GEORGIA — The U.S. Department of Justice announced the convictions of five Venezuelan men accused of stealing from ATMs across Georgia pled guilty to federal charges. Three have already been sentenced to time in federal prison.
“Law enforcement agencies nationwide are increasingly encountering jackpotting schemes that have ties to major criminal organizations,” U.S. Attorney William R. Keyes said in a statement. “We appreciate the strong collaboration between numerous police departments and the FBI, whose efforts led to the apprehension of this group. These individuals now face ICE detainers for immediate deportation.”
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The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia said Hector Alejandro Alvarado Alvarez and Cesar Augusto Gil Sanchez, both 22 of Venezuela, were convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud in early January.
Justice Department officials said after a series of ATM “jackpotting” thefts in September 2024 at various bank locations in Georgia, the Federal Bureau of Investigation started working to catch the suspects involved.
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Thefts happened at Peoples South Bank ATMS in Macon, Americus and Albany, while failed attempts to steal from Citizens Community Bank ATMs in Bainbridge. Another failed attempt was carried out in Tallahassee, Fla., according to federal officials.
In total, the suspects stole $24,000 from Peoples South Bank ATMs.
According to USDOJ, jackpotting is a way to exploit ATM vulnerabilities and make them dispense cash.
“Criminals gather ATM details, then either use malware-infected devices or ‘supervisor mode’ to trigger cash withdrawals,” officials said.
Additional attempted ATM thefts occurred at Commercial Banking Co. and Citizens Community Bank ATM locations in Hahira, Morven and Valdosta in October 2024, with $33,000 stolen in Morven and $18,000 in Valdosta.
Federal officials said nothing was taken from the machine in Hahira.
A traffic stop in Morven led to police tying the suspects to the thefts at the various ATMs after an office recognized the vehicle from bank surveillance footage.
“This group exploited sophisticated malware and traveled across state lines to target financial institutions, demonstrating the evolving and organized nature of modern ATM jackpotting schemes,” Paul Brown, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, said. “The FBI will continue working with our law enforcement partners nationwide to identify, disrupt and dismantle criminal networks that threaten the security of our banking system and our communities.”
USDOJ said crimes were also committed in Kentucky by the same group before an arrest was made.
USAO said three other co-defendants, also of Venezuela, previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and were sentenced in September.
Those individuals were Javier Alejandro Suarez-Godoy, 20, David Josfrangel Suarez-Sanchez, 24 and Giobriel Alexander Valera-Astudillo, 26.
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