Key facts
- Four men are accused of stealing over $529,000 from ATMs in Connecticut.
- The alleged thefts occurred between August 8 and 18, 2025.
- The scheme, known as "jackpotting," used specialized hardware and malware.
- The men are Venezuelan citizens residing in New York, North Carolina, and Massachusetts.
- They face charges including interstate transportation of stolen property and conspiracy.
Four men have been charged with federal offenses for allegedly orchestrating an elaborate ATM "jackpotting" scheme that netted over $529,000 across Connecticut. The group targeted at least nine cash machines along Interstate 95 during a 10-day period in August, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Prosecutors allege the men used specialized hardware and malware to corrupt the ATMs, forcing them to dispense large amounts of cash. In one instance at a rest stop in Fairfield, the group allegedly obtained $136,000. Court documents indicate that a total of $529,220 was stolen from eight machines between August 8 and 18, 2025. A software patch installed at an ATM in Ansonia on the first day of the spree reportedly thwarted their efforts.
The four defendants—Euclides Moreno Itanare, 28; Willian Ricardo Flores, 49; Alberto Jose Freites Arvilla, 41; and Luis Jose Freites Arvilla, 38—are all citizens of Venezuela. Two reside in New York, one in North Carolina, and the fourth in Massachusetts.
According to the press release, the modus operandi involved Luis Freites Arvilla acting as a lookout while Alberto Jose Freites Arvilla accessed the ATM's internal components. Itanare and Flores then took turns withdrawing cash over several hours. The group also reportedly changed clothes to avoid detection when approaching the same ATM multiple times.
The arrests followed a joint investigation by the FBI, Connecticut state police, and police departments in Raleigh, North Carolina, and New York. The men are currently in custody awaiting court proceedings. They face charges of interstate transportation of stolen property, which carries a maximum of 10 years in prison, and conspiracy, with a potential of up to five years imprisonment if convicted.
Photographs released by the U.S. attorney’s office purportedly show the men working on ATMs and displaying large sums of cash. In 2018, The Guardian reported warnings from major ATM manufacturers and the U.S. Secret Service about cybercriminals targeting ATMs with malicious software to extract cash.