SACRAMENTO, Calif.–A Florida man has been arrested for allegedly being part of an ATM jackpotting scam that store more than $2 million from banks and credit unions.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, Carlos Luis Vera La Cruz has been charged with conspiracy, bank larceny, accessing a protected computer to commit fraud, and attempting to access a protected computer to commit fraud.
The Allegations
According to the court, Vera La Cruz and others would steal money from ATMs at “targeted” banks and credit unions throughout the United States by infecting the machines with malware that forced them to dispense money without completing a valid transaction.
“In June 2023, as part of this scheme, Vera La Cruz targeted seven ATMs belonging to a bank in and around Redding and Chico, California, stealing $291,820,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Officials believe that in total, Vera La Cruz and his accomplices successfully stole about $2,615,766 from banks and credit unions in multiple states, but did not specify the other states where the scam may have taken place, Yahoo Finance reported.
The Maximum Penalty
According to the court, if convicted, Vera La Cruz faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for bank larceny. He also could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy charge and a $250,000 fine for each count of accessing a protected computer to commit fraud.
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