Venezuelan Gets Record 8-Year Term for ATM Jackpotting

Juan Manuel Gouveia-Aguilera, a 27-year-old Venezuelan, was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison for his role in an ATM jackpotting scheme, the Justice Department announced Friday. He pleaded guilty to bank fraud, bank burglary and cyber-enabled fraud. The court also ordered five years of supervised release and restitution.

In a statement, the Justice Department wrote: “The Court found Gouveia-Aguilera to be responsible for more than $3.5 million in losses and this sentence is believed to be the longest federal sentence imposed for an individual’s role in ATM jackpotting.”

Prosecutors say Gouveia-Aguilera participated in attacks that used malware to force ATMs to dispense cash. Weeks earlier, two other Venezuelan nationals, Oddry Arnoldo Cabrera Torrealba and Carlos Javier Padron, received 78-month federal terms for related conduct. Federal authorities have charged 119 people in Nebraska as part of a wider investigation into ATM jackpotting activity.

Investigators describe the typical jackpotting method as removing an ATM’s outer casing, connecting a laptop or other device to the machine and installing malware that allows operators to command the machine to release all of its cash.

The FBI warned earlier this year that malware-enabled ATM jackpotting has increased in the United States. Federal data show about 1,900 incidents reported since 2020, with losses last year exceeding $20 million.

Officials have linked many suspects in the cases to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan organization the U.S. government identifies as a criminal group. Federal prosecutors and investigators say the prosecutions are part of a coordinated effort to disrupt transnational rings that target ATMs across multiple states. The cases attracted attention from the FBI and financial sector officials because of the technical method used and the large amounts taken in automated thefts.