The Justice Department announced Monday that it has charged 31 more people in a nationwide ATM hacking scheme known as jackpotting that allegedly stole millions from U.S. banks.
According to the DOJ, many of those charged are alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
The new charges bring the total to 87 people charged in the expanding case, federal officials said.
Court documents filed in Nebraska allege the group used a type of ATM malware known as Ploutus to carry out the thefts. Prosecutors say members of the conspiracy recruited individuals affiliated with TdA to deploy the malware at ATMs across the country.
Authorities say the scheme involved first testing whether tampering with an ATM would trigger a law enforcement response. If no response occurred, the suspects allegedly inserted a thumb drive loaded with malware — the jackpotting method.
The malware allegedly sent unauthorized commands to the ATM system, forcing machines to dispense large amounts of cash.
"A large ring of criminal aliens allegedly engaged in a nationwide conspiracy to enrich themselves and the TdA terrorist organization by ripping off American citizens. After committing bank robbery, fraud, and other serious crimes, they will be vigorously prosecuted and held accountable for their crimes," Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said.
"The Justice Department's Joint Task Force Vulcan will not stop until it completely dismantles and destroys TdA and other foreign terrorists that import chaos to America," he added.
An Oct. 21 indictment charged 32 defendants in the case with 56 counts, including conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank burglary, and computer fraud, as well as dozens of individual fraud and burglary charges.
Federal prosecutors said the defendants could face up to 335 years in prison if convicted.
The case was investigated by the Homeland Security Task Force, working alongside state and local law enforcement agencies nationwide.
Federal prosecutors say the investigation remains ongoing.
Mark Swanson ✉
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