The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday that a Venezuelan citizen was sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in an ATM jackpot scheme that caused millions of dollars in losses.
According to the Justice Department, 27-year-old Juan Manuel Gouveia-Aguilera was sentenced to 96 months in prison, 5 years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution after pleading guilty to bank fraud, bank burglary and cyber fraud.
“The court found Gouveia-Aguilera to be responsible for more than $3.5 million in losses, and this sentence is believed to be the longest federal sentence imposed for an individual’s role in the ATM jackpot,” the DOJ said.
Gouveia-Aguilera’s sentencing comes just weeks after two other Venezuelan citizens, Oddry Arnoldo Cabrera Torrealba and Carlos Javier Padron, were each convicted 78 months imprisonment for their role in the ATM jackpotting.
These are just a few of the 119 people charged in Nebraska over ATM jackpots. It is believed that the suspects are working on behalf of the Venezuelan terrorist organization Tren de Aragua (TdA).
Jackpot ATM attacks typically involve removing the outer casing of the attacked ATM and connecting a laptop to install malware. The malware then allows the attackers to instruct the ATM to dispense all of its cash.
Earlier this year, the FBI warned of an increase in malware-based jackpot attacks on ATMs in the United States.
The agency said about 1,900 ATM jackpot attacks have been reported since 2020, with incidents recorded last year resulting in losses of over $20 million.
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