The FBI in Connecticut said it arrested four men accused of stealing tens of thousands at a time from ATMs at rest stops along I-95 from Darien to New Haven.
In a two-week span, the four suspects stole more than $500,000 from eight ATM locations, according to investigators.
The suspects are Venezuelan nationals. Law enforcement officials alleged they used hardware and malware to get the machines to churn out endless streams of cash. At a northbound rest stop in Fairfield, prosecutors said, the men made off with $136,000 in one haul.
David Sullivan, the U.S. attorney for Connecticut, said the men were charged with interstate stolen property and conspiracy. Two suspects are from New York City: Willian Flores, 49, of the Bronx, and Alberto Arvilla, 41, of Queens. Also charged were Luis Arvilla, 38, of Lynn, Massachusetts, and Euclides Itanare, 28, of Raleigh, North Carolina.
New Haven Homeland Security Task Force team members had been tracking the alleged interstate crew since August. Sullivan said the robbers orchestrated so-called jackpotting schemes, using technology to corrupt the machines and access the cash.
Surveillance photos in the criminal complaint are alleged to show the men taking turns taking out cash as it was spewed from the compromised ATMs. Other pictures alleged to have been taken by the suspects themselves show piles of cash in the back seat of the silver Toyota Highlander used in the heists.
Homeland Security officials said cellphone tracking data also linked some suspects to the exact locations and timing of several ATM rip-offs.
A call to Connecticut Public Defenders for comment about the charges was not immediately returned. The four men were ordered held without bail as the federal criminal investigation continues.
The U.S. attorney’s office said the four men can be tied to the following heists:
- Aug. 8: Cumberland Farms in Milford, with $23,300 stolen
- Aug. 8: Attempted heist at Cumberland Farms in Ansonia
- Aug. 14: I-95 north in Fairfield, with $136,000 stolen
- Aug .15: I-95 north in Branford, with $66,400 stolen
- Aug. 16: I-95 north in Madison, with $42,020 stolen
- Aug. 16: I-95 south in Madison, with $84,000 stolen
- Aug. 17: I-95 north in Darien, with $61,600 stolen
- Aug. 18: I-95 north in Darien, with $58,400 stolen
- Aug. 18: I-95 south in Darien, with $57,000 stolen
Officials said the investigation into other possible past ATM thefts is ongoing to determine whether they can be linked to the same “jackpotting” crew.
If they are convicted, each of the men could face up to 10 years in federal prison.
