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SALT LAKE CITY — Five men are accused of breaching bank ATMs in the Salt Lake Valley to dispense an unlimited amount of money in what prosecutors call a “jackpotting” scheme, according to a complaint filed in federal court Monday.
Josshoa Perez Rivas, 28, Joao Silva Robertson, 28, Starlin Garcia Caraballo, 39, Pedro Rivera Velaquez, 38, and Luis Mendez Mata, 42, each Venezuelan nationals, were each charged in U.S. District Court with fraud and related activity in connection with computer, bank robbery and incidental crimes.
Four of the men were arrested Sunday at a credit union in Sandy by federal and local agencies, according to U.S. Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch. Mata was not arrested during the operation and remained outstanding as of Wednesday.
The men are accused of using malware to breach the ATMs, according to the federal complaint.
Four of the men arrived at Salt Lake City International Airport on Friday and met with Robertson. Agents who had already begun surveilling the men said they observed them arrive in different vehicles and meet at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Sunday, the complaint stated.
The men then left in their different vehicles and traveled to multiple ATM locations in Sandy and Cottonwood Heights. Then they returned to Liberty Park for another meeting and after the meeting, “the individuals appeared to exchange some equipment or materials from one car to another,” according to the complaint.
The men then returned to the ATMs in the southern part of the valley. An individual who exited out of a vehicle rented by Velazquez approached a Zions Bank ATM in the valley and another individual walked to a Mountain America Credit Union ATM. The Zions Bank location later reported an attempted breach at its location, according to the complaint.
The vehicles then left and went toward a location in an area on 9400 South. The complaint stated the individual from the vehicle Velazquez rented went to an ATM at a Deseret First Credit Union in Sandy and law enforcement agents approached the credit union and saw the ATM displaying a screen stating that it had been breached.
Agents then saw the ATM dispensing cash and they arrested the person in the car. Agents also reported a bag “full of cash” was located in the vehicle. The complaint stated a technician reviewed the ATM and found a dongle for attaching a keyboard to the computer that wasn’t supposed to be at the ATM. The technician also found external cables and two hard drives had been installed.
The complaint stated four of the five men charged were found either in the vehicle or in front of the credit union and were arrested when agents approached the ATM. A witness told authorities a person matching Mata’s description was in another vehicle parked at a gas station as a lookout.
