Four men have been charged in federal court after stealing more than $500,000 from an ATM in Connecticut, authorities said.
The robbery occurred in August 2025, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut. Prosecutors said in a June 29 press release that the men conspired to steal cash from at least nine ATMs that month in a “jackpot” scheme that “used specialized hardware and malware to force the withdrawal of cash stored in ATMs.”
Euclides Moreno Itanare, 28, of Raleigh, North Carolina. Willian Ricardo Flores, 49 years old, lives in the Bronx, New York. Alberto Jose Freites Arvilla, 41, of Queens, New York. Luis Jose Freites Alvira, 38, of Lynn, Massachusetts, was arrested June 25 and charged with interstate transportation of stolen property and conspiracy. Prosecutors say they are all Venezuelan nationals.
At least nine ATMs in southern Connecticut were targeted between August 8, 2025 and August 18, 2025, according to the criminal complaint. One of the ATMs had a recently installed software patch that prevented the men from stealing cash, but a total of $529,220 was stolen from the other eight machines, investigators said in the complaint. The highest total theft was $136,000 from an ATM at a rest stop along Interstate 95 in Fairfield, Conn., according to the complaint.
If convicted, the men could face up to 10 years in federal prison for interstate transportation of stolen property and up to five years for conspiracy. USA TODAY has reached out to the U.S. Civil Service Office for the District of Connecticut for comment.
How the “Jackpot” scheme works
Criminal prosecution investigators say the men carried out a similar pattern at each ATM they attacked in the scheme, as seen on surveillance video.
First, Alberto Freites Alvilla unplugged the ATM, opened the hood using a key on the bezel, and gained access to the inside of the machine while Luis Freites Alvilla watched. Alberto Freites Arvilla inserted the card into the ATM’s computer component, reconnected the ATM, turned it on, and left the area.
Mr. Itanare, Mr. Flores and Mr. Luis Freites Alvilla then appeared in sequence, approached the ATM, inserted their cards, entered their PINs, withdrew cash and repeated the process. Investigators said in the complaint that they sometimes changed clothes on the way “to avoid suspicion when approaching the same ATM multiple times for an extended period of time.” They would continue this process for up to several hours at each location, according to the complaint.
Investigators said the men had cash in their waist packs and pockets. Photos that appear to have been taken by the men themselves show them on a car seat, in a plastic bag, and in a pile on the floor of a New York location.
More than $500,000 stolen from ATM
According to the criminal complaint, the following items were stolen from each ATM targeted by the men:
- August 8, 2025: $23,200 from ATM at Cumberland Farms Convenience Store in Milford, CT.
- August 8, 2025: Software patch to prevent this type of theft eliminates losses from Cumberland Farms ATM in Ansonia, CT
- August 14, 2025: $136,000 from an ATM at an I-95 rest stop in Fairfield, CT.
- August 15, 2025: $66,400 from an ATM at an I-95 rest stop in Branford, CT.
- August 16, 2025: $42,020 from an ATM at an I-95 rest stop in Madison, CT.
- August 16, 2025: $84,000 from an ATM at an I-95 rest stop in Madison, CT.
- August 17, 2025: $61,600 from an ATM at an Interstate 95 rest stop in Darien, CT.
- August 18, 2025: $58,400 from an ATM at an Interstate 95 rest stop in Darien, CT.
- August 18, 2025: $57,600 from an ATM at an I-95 rest stop in Darien, CT.
