A sweeping federal investigation has resulted in charges against 54 individuals accused of participating in a sophisticated “ATM jackpotting” ring used to funnel millions of dollars to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA).
United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced the unsealing of two indictments returned by a federal grand jury in the District of Nebraska. The charges outline a vast conspiracy involving malware, bank burglary, and money laundering, with prosecutors alleging the stolen funds provided material support to terrorists.
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Among the high-profile names in the indictment is Jimena Romina Araya Navarro, a Venezuelan entertainer and alleged TdA leader. Araya Navarro, already sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), is accused of playing a key role in the network.
OFAC officials have previously reported that she assisted Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores—the notorious TdA boss known as “Niño Guerrero”—in his 2012 escape from the Tocorón prison in Venezuela. Prosecutors noted that she has been photographed publicly at social events alongside the gang leader.
The investigation centers on a technique known as “jackpotting.” According to court documents, the group utilized a specific malware variant called “Ploutus” to force ATMs to dispense cash on demand.
The operation was reportedly methodical. Prosecutors say teams of conspirators traveled in convoys to target banks and credit unions across the United States. After conducting surveillance to check for alarms or police response, the groups would physically pry open the ATM hoods or doors. They then allegedly installed the malware by either swapping the hard drive or inserting a thumb drive.
Once infected with Ploutus, the machines were commanded to empty their cash reserves. The malware was also designed to wipe its own tracks, deleting digital evidence to hide the breach from bank employees.
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“As alleged, these defendants employed methodical surveillance and burglary techniques to install malware into ATM machines, and then steal and launder money from the machines, in part to fund terrorism,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti.
The indictments, returned on October 21 and December 9, 2025, allege that the stolen cash was transferred among members and associates before being funneled back to TdA leaders. The gang, which originated in Venezuelan prisons in the mid-2000s, has since expanded into a transnational criminal organization involved in sex trafficking, drug running, and contract killings.
“Many millions of dollars were drained from ATM machines across the United States as a result of this conspiracy,” U.S. Attorney Woods stated. She credited a coalition of Nebraska law enforcement for tracing the “devastating financial crime back to its terroristic roots in Venezuela.”
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