A federal grand jury in Nebraska has returned an indictment adding six more people to a sprawling case accusing a Venezuelan gang of using malware to steal millions from ATMs, bringing the total charged in recent actions to 93 and linking the scheme to what prosecutors call “ATM jackpotting.” This latest filing targets individuals allegedly operating in the Houston area and follows prior indictments that described a national conspiracy funneling proceeds through a transnational criminal group.
The indictment returned Wednesday in the District of Nebraska charges six Venezuelan nationals for roles in a conspiracy to deploy malware and take cash from machines across the United States. The document accuses them of joining a larger criminal effort that used technology and physical access to empty ATMs and then move the proceeds through networks tied to the organization.
The defendants named are Wester Eduardo Dugarte Goicochea, 43; Mauro Angel Briceno Caldera, 37; Henry Rafael Gonzalez-Gutierrez, 37; and Giovanny Miguel Ocanto Yance, 26, all identified as Venezuelan nationals residing in the Houston area. The indictment also charges Jelfenson David Bolivar Diaz, 38, and Arlinzon Jose Reyes Villegas, 21, both Venezuelan nationals, with participating in the scheme.
Federal prosecutors allege five counts in the new indictment: conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank burglary and computer fraud, bank fraud, bank burglary, and damage to computers. Those counts mirror charges in earlier filings that describe coordinated attempts to defeat bank systems, break into ATM hardware, and extract cash while concealing the trail of proceeds.
A December 9, 2025 indictment detailed earlier phases of the operation and named Tren de Aragua, a designated foreign terrorist organization, as conducting jackpotting attacks across America. That complaint charged 22 people: 13 with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, 10 with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, 10 with conspiracy to commit bank burglary and fraud and related activity in connection with computers, and 22 with conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Separate indictments returned on October 21, 2025, and January 21 charged more suspects in the same pattern of offenses. The Oct. 21 filing charged 32 individuals and alleged 56 counts, while the Jan. 21 filing charged 31 people and alleged 32 counts. Prosecutors say the loss to victim financial institutions exceeded $100,000 per jackpotting attempt, with an overall loss above $6 million and at least $1.74 million in additional attempted losses.
If convicted on the stacked federal counts, the defendants face severe prison terms, with potential maximum penalties ranging between 20 and 335 years. The filings paint Tren de Aragua, often abbreviated TdA, as a violent transnational criminal organization that started as a Venezuelan prison gang in the mid-2000s and then expanded into broad criminal networks across the Western Hemisphere and the United States.
TdA’s alleged criminal portfolio is extensive, including drug and firearms trafficking, commercial sex trafficking, kidnapping, robbery, theft, fraud, extortion, and violent offenses such as murder and assault used to advance the group’s aims. Investigators say the organization also developed financial crimes, like jackpotting, to generate cash revenue for members and associates.
In the past six months, the Justice Department has obtained charges against 93 individuals tied to TdA for a range of federal offenses, including material support to a designated foreign terror organization, bank burglary, money laundering, damage and unauthorized access to protected computers, bank fraud, and conspiracy. Prosecutors and law enforcement describe the activity as a coordinated, national criminal enterprise that moved money across jurisdictions to hide illegal gains.
The current prosecutions are being carried by the Justice Department’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska, and Joint Task Force Vulcan. Significant assistance came from the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, U.S. Attorney’s Offices in multiple districts, and several state and local prosecutorial and law enforcement partners across the country.
This operation is listed as part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, a whole-of-government partnership aimed at eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings. Authorities say coordination across federal, state, and local lines remains central to dismantling the networks and pursuing those alleged to be involved.
Joint Task Force Vulcan, created in 2019 initially to target MS-13, has broadened its mission to include TdA and other transnational threats. JTFV unites U.S. Attorney’s Offices around the country along with the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and Criminal Division, and law enforcement partners such as the FBI, DEA, HSI, ATF, U.S. Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Prisons to coordinate prosecutions and disruption operations.
