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Federal prosecutors in Nebraska say not less than 20 individuals with hyperlinks to the Venezuelan jail gang Tren de Aragua have stolen $5.4 million in an ATM hacking conspiracy that sprawled throughout the US, together with the Chicago space.
The indictment alleges the group carried out dozens of so-called ATM jackpotting assaults, a type of cyber-enabled financial institution theft during which thieves bodily entry an ATM, set up malware, and power the machine to dispense money with out debiting buyer accounts. Prosecutors say the conspiracy operated from not less than January 2024 by way of this month and focused greater than 90 monetary establishments nationwide, together with right here in Chicago.
On the middle of the case is Anibal Alexander Canelon Aguirre, also referred to as “Prometheus” and “The Engineer,” who allegedly performed a management and technical position in deploying malware and coordinating assaults.
Prosecutors say the group used specialised ATM malware referred to as Ploutus, typically put in utilizing tiny single-board computer systems akin to Raspberry Pi gadgets. The scheme usually concerned advance surveillance of ATMs, bodily tampering with inner parts, distant activation of malware, and coordinated money pickups. The malware was designed to delete itself after every assault to hinder forensic evaluation, prosecutors stated.
Court docket data allege the defendants dedicated or tried not less than 117 jackpotting assaults in opposition to federally insured banks and credit score unions, leading to confirmed losses of not less than $5,401,181, with a further $1,429,738 in tried losses. Some particular person assaults allegedly resulted in losses properly over $100,000, together with a pair of August 2025 assaults at a Nebraska credit score union that netted roughly $300,000.
Prosecutors say proceeds have been cut up amongst members, with the rest laundered by way of monetary transfers supposed to hide the illicit supply of the cash.
In line with the indictment, Tren de Aragua originated as a Venezuelan jail gang and has grown right into a violent transnational felony group with operations all through the Western Hemisphere and inside the US. The group was designated a International Terrorist Group by the U.S. State Division earlier this 12 months, a designation prosecutors cite as the premise for bringing terrorism-related costs in opposition to members of the group.
Members of the group are charged with a mixture of federal crimes, together with conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud, conspiracy to commit financial institution housebreaking and laptop fraud, conspiracy to commit cash laundering, and conspiracy to offer materials assist to terrorists.
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