SACRAMENTO— A federal grand jury has indicted two Venezuelan nationals in connection with an ATM "jackpotting" scheme that targeted credit unions and banks across California and six other western states.
The pair allegedly conspired to hack ATMs and force them to dispense large amounts of cash, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
A federal grand jury has returned an indictment against Joel Alejandro Morantes Leal, 25, of San Cristobal, Venezuela, and Endis Daniel Gonzalez Ortega, 22, of Venezuela, charging them in a conspiracy to steal cash from ATMs in the California Counties of Merced and Tulare and in six other western states, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California, announced.
Morantes was additionally charged with one count of bank robbery, one count of accessing a protected computer in furtherance of fraud, and three counts of attempting to access a protected computer in furtherance of fraud.
According to court documents, between April 1, 2025, and May 29, 2025, Morantes and Gonzalez engaged in an ATM “jackpotting” conspiracy, where they stole money from ATMs at targeted banks and credit unions around the Western United States by infecting the ATMs with malware and causing them to dispense money without a valid transaction.
They worked with others and targeted ATMs in California, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Nebraska, Utah, and Washington.
The defendants and their co-conspirators jackpotted or attempted to jackpot more than 30 ATMs and received hundreds of thousands of dollars in U.S. Currency. In one incident alone, in April 2025 at a credit union in Merced County, they stole approximately $94,800 in cash, the U.S Attorney’s Office said.
The investigation is ongoing.
If convicted of conspiracy, Morantes and Gonzalez face a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted of bank robbery, Morantes faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted of accessing or attempting to access a protected computer in furtherance of fraud, Morantes faces and a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count.