US jails ATM thief behind $3.5M heist amid investigation into violent cybercrime conspiracy
In the end, the house always wins.
A man standing in front of an ATM machine. Photo by Alexandros Giannakakis on Unsplash
- Juan Manuel Gouveia-Aguilera was sentenced to eight years for using malware to make ATMs release cash.
- Prosecutors said he stole more than $3.5 million from ATMs across the United States.
- US authorities have charged 119 suspects in Nebraska in a wider scheme linked to transnational criminal groups.
- The FBI says about 1,900 ATM jackpotting incidents have been reported since 2020. Losses topped $20 million in 2025 alone.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
A Venezuelan national has been sentenced to 8 years in prison for deploying malware and stealing millions of dollars from ATMs across the United States.
27-year-old Juan Manuel Gouveia-Aguilera was sentenced on August 20th in federal court in Omaha for ATM jackpotting, a type of cybercrime in which ATMs are physically manipulated to hand over the cash they contain.
District Court Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Gouveia-Aguilera to 96 months in prison, a 5-year term of supervised release, and $500 in special assessments. The suspect was also ordered to pay restitution as part of his sentence.
Gouveia-Aguilera was responsible for stealing over $3.5 million from ATMs across the US. In addition, the court ruled that the Venezuelan man was guilty of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank burglary, and fraud in connection with computers.
Several US authorities are currently investigating and prosecuting a widespread ATM jackpotting conspiracy that has been tied to violent transnational criminal organizations, including Tren de Aragua (TdA).
TdA’s criminal activities range from drug trafficking and firearms trafficking to commercial sex trafficking, kidnapping, robbery, theft, fraud, extortion, murder, assault, and other violent and criminal acts.
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To date, 119 suspects have been charged in the District of Nebraska for their role in ATM jackpotting.
Gouveia-Aguilera is the third defendant to be sentenced in the District of Nebraska for the crime. A few weeks earlier, Oddry Arnoldo Cabrera Torrealba and Carlos Javier Padron were each sentenced to 78 months in prison for their role in the ATM jackpotting conspiracy.
Earlier this year, the FBI warned of malware-enabled ATM jackpotting incidents across the US.
Roughly 1,900 ATM jackpotting incidents have been reported since 2020, with more than $20 million in losses in 2025 alone.
