A Venezuelan citizen has pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal money from several ATMs in Jackson County, Mississippi. Favian David Aparicio-Linares, 19, was arrested on November 9, 2025, after citizens reported suspicious activity near a bank on Market Street in Pascagoula. When police arrived, Aparicio-Linares and another individual attempted to flee. Aparicio-Linares was apprehended and multiple electronic devices were recovered from their vehicle.
Investigators found evidence that Aparicio-Linares and the other suspect had traveled from out of state with the intent to steal funds from ATMs. Authorities determined that they planned to use malware to force the machines to dispense cash.
Aparicio-Linares is scheduled for sentencing on April 28, 2026, and could face up to five years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Baxter Kruger for the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Robert A. Eikhoff of the FBI Jackson Field Office announced the plea. The FBI and Pascagoula Police Department are investigating the case, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Buckner prosecuting.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline), a federal initiative coordinated by the Mississippi Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF). HSTFs were created under Executive Order 14159 and are joint operations led by the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security. The operation aims to address illegal immigration, eliminate transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities by combining resources from existing federal programs such as OCDETFs and Project Safe Neighborhood.
"This case was investigated and prosecuted by the Mississippi Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) as part of Operation Take Back America. HSTFs, which were established by President Trump in Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, are joint operations led by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide federal initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN)."
