Six more individuals have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Nebraska for their alleged involvement in an international scheme to deploy malware and steal millions of dollars from ATMs, a practice known as “ATM jackpotting.” The latest charges bring the total number of defendants charged in connection with this conspiracy to 93.
The newly charged defendants are Wester Eduardo Dugarte Goicochea, Mauro Angel Briceno Caldera, Henry Rafael Gonzalez-Gutierrez, and Giovanny Miguel Ocanto Yance—all Venezuelan nationals residing in the Houston area—as well as Jelfenson David Bolivar Diaz and Arlinzon Jose Reyes Villegas, also Venezuelan nationals. The indictment includes five counts: conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank burglary and computer fraud, bank fraud, bank burglary, and damage to computers.
A previous indictment filed on December 9, 2025, accused members of Tren de Aragua (TdA), which is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. That filing named 22 people for roles in similar crimes across the United States. It alleges that TdA used jackpotting attacks to steal millions from U.S. financial institutions before transferring proceeds among its network to hide the origins of the funds.
Two related indictments were returned earlier—one on October 21, 2025, charging 32 individuals with a total of 56 counts including various types of bank fraud and computer crimes; another on January 21, 2026 charged 31 people with similar offenses. According to authorities, each jackpotting attempt resulted in losses exceeding $100,000 per incident for financial institutions. Overall losses exceed $6 million with at least an additional $1.74 million attempted.
If convicted on all counts, those charged could face sentences ranging from up to 20 years to as much as 335 years in prison.
According to court documents cited by officials, TdA originated as a prison gang in Venezuela during the mid-2000s but has since expanded throughout the Western Hemisphere—including establishing operations within the United States. The group is involved in multiple criminal activities such as drug trafficking, firearms trafficking, sex trafficking, kidnapping, robbery and extortion. Members have also committed violent acts like murder and assault as part of their operations. Recently they have increasingly targeted U.S. financial institutions through crimes such as ATM jackpotting.
Over the past six months alone federal authorities have brought charges against a total of 93 alleged TdA members or leaders for offenses ranging from providing material support to terrorism organizations and money laundering to unauthorized access or damage to protected computers.
The FBI’s Omaha Field Office and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Omaha are leading this investigation with assistance from numerous other federal agencies including field offices in Denver; Houston; Miami; New Orleans; Oklahoma; Sacramento; Seattle; Springfield; along with Secret Service and other local law enforcement partners nationwide.
The case is being prosecuted by attorneys from both the Justice Department’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Nebraska—alongside Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV). Additional support has come from several U.S. Attorney’s Offices around the country plus state-level law enforcement entities.
This operation falls under Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) efforts established by Executive Order 14159 aimed at combating transnational criminal organizations operating inside or outside U.S borders by leveraging interagency cooperation among law enforcement groups at every level.
Joint Task Force Vulcan was originally created in 2019 targeting MS-13 but has since broadened its focus—including now working against Tren de Aragua—with participation from multiple district attorney offices nationwide plus federal agencies like FBI, DEA, HSI ATF USMS Bureau of Prisons.
Authorities emphasized that “An indictment or a complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
