The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Carlos Javier Padron was sentenced to 78 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy that used malware to force ATMs in the United States to dispense cash, a scheme commonly known as ATM jackpotting. Co-defendant Oddry Arnoldo Cabrera Torrealba received the same sentence on June 11. The court also ordered both men to jointly pay USD 1,537,696 in restitution to multiple victim banks. According to court documents, the pair were part of a network that developed and deployed a variant of Ploutus malware on ATMs, enabling unauthorized cash withdrawals and deleting evidence of the malware to hinder detection by financial institutions. They pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank burglary and to computer fraud and intentional damage to a protected computer. Their October 2024 arrest in Lincoln, Nebraska, led to a wider federal investigation that has since resulted in 96 additional indictments for related offenses, including bank burglary, money laundering, bank fraud, unauthorized access to protected computers and, in some cases, material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Court documents cited by the department say the broader conspiracy has extensive direct and indirect links to Tren de Aragua and that ATM jackpotting was used to generate millions of dollars in cash.
U.S. Department of Justice2026-06-26
U.S. Department of Justice secures 78 month sentences in ATM jackpotting case tied to broader Tren de Aragua network
The U.S. Department of Justice said two defendants in an ATM jackpotting conspiracy were each sentenced to 78 months in prison and ordered to jointly pay USD 1,537,696 to victim banks. The case involved Ploutus malware used to trigger unauthorized cash withdrawals from ATMs. The department said the arrests led to a broader investigation that has produced 96 additional indictments and identified links to Tren de Aragua.