Millions Vanish as ATM Hackers Exploit U.S.

Two illegal aliens tied to a violent foreign gang just helped steal millions from American banks using hacked ATMs, and the case shows how easily cybercriminals can loot the system while Washington keeps failing to secure the country’s borders and financial infrastructure.

Story Snapshot

Two Venezuelan illegal aliens received 78‑month sentences for a nationwide ATM “jackpotting” conspiracy using Ploutus malware.^[3]
Prosecutors say the scheme is linked to Tren de Aragua, a brutal transnational criminal organization funded in part by U.S. bank theft.^[1]^[6]
The malware forced ATMs to spit out cash and then erased traces of the attack, highlighting major cyber and physical security gaps.^[3]^[4]
The case is part of a broader wave of ATM jackpotting tied to foreign nationals, raising deeper questions about border and system control.^[11]^[21]

Who These Men Are And What They Did

Federal prosecutors say Carlos Javier Padron, 36, and Oddry Arnoldo Cabrera Torrealba, 37, are Venezuelan nationals living in the United States illegally who joined a network that stole millions by hacking cash machines.^[3] Both men pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank burglary and one count of computer fraud and intentional damage to a protected computer.^[3] A federal judge sentenced each to 78 months in prison and ordered them to repay $1,537,696 jointly to several victim banks.^[3] Townhall reports the stolen money was allegedly routed to a terrorist organization tied to their gang.^[1]

According to the Justice Department, Padron and Cabrera Torrealba were part of a “sophisticated criminal network” running ATM jackpotting hits across the country.^[3] Court records say the group used a variant of Ploutus malware to give them direct control over ATM cash dispensers, bypassing normal bank checks and card use.^[3] Once the malware was installed, conspirators could send commands straight to the cash module, forcing machines to empty their funds on demand.^[3] These are not small-time thefts but organized raids on the financial system.

How The Ploutus Malware Turned ATMs Into Cash Machines

Ploutus malware sits at the heart of this story because it converts an ATM from a guarded bank tool into a simple cash pump.^[3]^[4] Court documents and related indictments explain that Ploutus’ main purpose is to issue unauthorized commands to the Cash Dispensing Module so criminals can force withdrawals without a customer account.^[4] The code is also built to wipe evidence of itself, misleading bank and credit union workers who later inspect the machine.^[4] Cyber experts say Ploutus talks directly to hardware and has helped criminals trigger over $450 million in losses worldwide since 2013.^[23]

Threat advisories from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) describe a growing pattern: criminals gain physical access to the machine, plug in a device or swap a drive, and then install jackpotting malware.^[20]^[21] Once active, the malware bypasses normal security checks and makes the ATM pour out cash until it is emptied.^[21] The FBI now warns banks that there were about 700 such jackpotting incidents causing more than $20 million in losses in 2025 alone.^[21]^[24] The Padron and Cabrera Torrealba case fits squarely into this surge, showing that this is not some rare hacker stunt—it is becoming routine.

Tren de Aragua, Terror Funding, And The Deep State Question

Federal officials say this jackpotting network is linked to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal organization that has spread across the Western Hemisphere.^[1]^[6] The Nebraska indictment in the larger case alleges that Tren de Aragua used ATM jackpotting in the United States to steal millions and then move that money among members to hide the source.^[12] Reporting on the broader scheme says that stolen funds have been used to support violent acts, including rape and sex trafficking of children, tied to the gang’s global operations.^[5] In short, money drained from American banks is helping fuel foreign violence and exploitation.

A federal grand jury in Nebraska has now charged 87 people in the jackpotting conspiracy, most of them Venezuelan or Colombian nationals, with crimes ranging from material support to a foreign terrorist organization to bank burglary and money laundering.^[5]^[6]^[11] Yet despite this sweeping case, Tren de Aragua continues to operate inside U.S. borders.^[6]^[9] Many Americans on both the right and the left see this as proof that the federal government talks tough about “national security” while letting dangerous networks slip through broken immigration systems and weak enforcement. The picture that emerges is of agencies playing whack‑a‑mole instead of fixing the root problems.

Immigration, Cybercrime, And A System Ordinary Americans Do Not Trust

This case also highlights a pattern that has become hard to ignore: repeated ATM jackpotting plots involving foreign nationals who entered or stayed in the country illegally.^[14]^[16]^[17]^[18] In South Carolina, two other Venezuelan illegal aliens were convicted for a similar scheme targeting older ATMs across several states and are now being deported.^[14]^[16] Security reports describe more Venezuelan suspects under arrest or indictment for jackpotting runs in New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, and across the Southeast.^[17]^[23] Each case adds fuel to the anger of citizens who feel Washington refuses to control the border while banks and local communities absorb the damage.

🚨2 more illegal alien Tren de Aragua gang members sentenced to prison for a nationwide ATM Jackpotting conspiracy, robbing banks.

96 other TdA members of the designated foreign terrorist org. have been indicted. All were released into the U.S. by the Democrats. pic.twitter.com/wNyW4uL1OQ

— Dapper Detective (@Dapper_Det) June 27, 2026

At the same time, liberals point out that high‑tech financial crime grows because regulators and Congress let banks rely on aging machines and weak cyber defenses while focusing on culture wars instead of modern threats.^[19]^[22] Federal guidance now urges banks to re‑key ATMs, add sensors and camera coverage, and lock down software and device access to stop jackpotting.^[20]^[21]^[22] But these are recommendations, not mandates, and they arrive only after criminals have already stolen millions. Whether you blame open borders, corporate corner‑cutting, or a distracted political class, the common thread is a federal system that responds late and lightly as foreign gangs and malware walk off with American cash.