Five Venezuelans Plead Guilty to ATM Jackpotting Attacks in US

{"heading_1":"The Jackpotting Bandits","subheading_1":"Background on the Attackers","content_1":"The five defendants, Luis Alberto Velasquez-Artigas, Royder Adrian Figuera-Perez, Javier Mejia, Jr., Gabriel Alexjandro Corales-Garcia, and Italo Lizandro Corrales-Carrillo, were arrested in December 2025 after failing to install malware in ATMs in Wamego and Manhattan, Kansas. The FBI warned in February that criminals stole over $20 million in ATM jackpotting incidents last year.","subheading_2":"The Technology Used","content_2":"The criminals used malware such as ATMii, ATMitch, GreenDispenser, Alice, RIPPER, Skimer, SUCEFUL, and Ploutus to steal cash from ATMs. They installed malware on the ATM's internal computer and used an attached USB keyboard or the built-in PIN pad to control the cash dispenser.","subheading_3":"The Impact of the Attack","content_3":"The five defendants were arrested after their attempts to install malware were unsuccessful. The FBI warned that criminals stole over $20 million in cash from ATMs last year, with the Tren de Aragua Venezuelan criminal organization being linked to a massive ATM jackpotting scheme that deployed Ploutus malware to steal millions in cash from ATMs across the US. The Justice Department has charged 87 Tren de Aragua members, who are facing maximum prison terms ranging from 20 to 335 years each."}