A Venezuelan national has been sentenced to 8 years in prison for his role in an ATM jackpotting scheme that caused millions of dollars in losses, the US Justice Department announced on Friday.
According to the DOJ, 27-year-old Juan Manuel Gouveia-Aguilera has been 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-enabled fraud charges.
“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 ATM jackpotting,” the DOJ said.
Gouveia-Aguilera’s sentencing comes just weeks after two other Venezuelan nationals, Oddry Arnoldo Cabrera Torrealba and Carlos Javier Padron, each received 78-month prison sentences for their role in ATM jackpotting.
They are just a few of the 119 individuals charged in Nebraska for ATM jackpotting. The suspects are believed to work on behalf of the Venezuelan terrorist organization Tren de Aragua (TdA).
The ATM jackpotting attacks typically involve removing the targeted ATM’s outer casing and connecting a laptop to install malware. The malware then enables the attackers to instruct the ATM to dispense all its cash.