Federal prosecutors in Boston have charged two Venezuelan nationals with conspiracy to commit bank theft in what authorities describe as a fast-moving ATM jackpotting operation that stretched across multiple New England states. The case centers on Moises Alejandro Martinez Gutierrez and Lestter Guerrero, who prosecutors say took part in a series of robberies and attempted robberies targeting cash machines in the region. What makes the case stand out is not just the accusation itself, but the way prosecutors frame it. This was not presented as a local theft case or an isolated ATM hit. Federal authorities say the two men were tied to a broader pattern of coordinated attacks and identified them as alleged members of Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan-born criminal organization that has drawn increasing scrutiny from U.S. law enforcement. The charges also land in the middle of a much larger federal crackdown on an alleged nationwide jackpotting network.
How the alleged New England operation unfolded
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, the alleged conspiracy included robberies and attempted robberies in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Prosecutors say Martinez Gutierrez was connected to at least five additional incidents across the region, including robberies in Norwich, Connecticut, on Dec. 31, 2025; Braintree, Massachusetts, on Jan. 20, 2026; and Rochester, New Hampshire, on Jan. 30, 2026, along with attempted robberies in Coventry, Rhode Island, and Stoneham, Massachusetts. Guerrero, according to charging documents, was also allegedly linked to the Rochester incident. The pair were arrested in Augusta, Maine, on Feb. 5, 2026, after what prosecutors described as an attempted ATM jackpotting robbery. That detail gives the story more weight than a standard announcement of charges. It suggests investigators were not simply piecing together old surveillance footage after the fact. They were tracking a crew that authorities say was still operating across state lines. That is a crucial distinction for readers trying to understand why this case matters. A one-night ATM burglary is a local crime story. A string of alleged hits from Connecticut to Maine looks more like a structured mobile operation, one capable of choosing targets, moving quickly and staying ahead of local law enforcement until federal agencies could connect the dots.
What jackpotting actually means
Jackpotting sounds like slang, but it refers to a specific kind of ATM attack. The basic idea is to force a cash machine to spit out money on command, either by installing malware or by using specialized hardware after gaining physical access. In its 2018 warning to financial institutions, the U.S. Secret Service described jackpotting as a sophisticated attack in which criminals physically open an ATM and install malicious tools that trigger large cash withdrawals. That hybrid element is what makes the crime notable. It is not purely digital, and it is not purely a smash-and-grab. The people behind it have to identify vulnerable machines, get close enough to manipulate them, deploy the tools correctly and leave before police or bank security intervene. Prosecutors in Massachusetts said these schemes typically involve crews who travel to target locations and install malware directly into the ATM’s software programming to force the machine to dispense its cash. For smaller banks and credit unions, especially those with machines in convenience stores, retail corridors or lightly monitored exterior locations, that combination of technical intrusion and physical access is a difficult threat to guard against. It also helps explain why investigators treat these cases as more than routine theft.
The Tren de Aragua allegation changes the stakes
Federal prosecutors did not describe the two defendants as independent thieves. In the Massachusetts case, they alleged the men were members of Tren de Aragua, a group that court filings say has engaged in human smuggling, extortion, drug trafficking, kidnapping and robbery. The broader significance is not just the names in one indictment, but the theory behind the prosecution. Authorities argue that jackpotting is not merely a profitable side hustle for individual offenders. They say it has become a revenue stream for a larger organization. In the Massachusetts release, prosecutors said jackpotting proceeds are typically split, with half allegedly sent to TdA leadership in Venezuela and the other half divided among people handling the operation on the ground. If that allegation holds up in court, the New England robberies would represent part of a financial pipeline rather than a disconnected string of ATM thefts. That gives the case a sharper edge than many gang stories. Most public attention around transnational criminal groups focuses on violent offenses or immigration enforcement. A malware-driven ATM scheme is different. It is quieter, faster and potentially easier to scale across regions without drawing immediate attention from the public. It also shows why financial crime investigators and organized crime prosecutors are converging on the same set of defendants.
One New England case inside a national federal push
The Boston indictment is only one piece of a much broader federal effort. In a Jan. 26 announcement, the Department of Justice said an additional Nebraska indictment had pushed the total number of charged defendants in the alleged international ATM jackpotting investigation to 87. That announcement said 31 more individuals had been charged in a conspiracy to deploy malware and steal millions of dollars from ATMs in the United States, while 56 others had already been charged. The Nebraska side of the case helps explain why federal officials are treating the New England allegations as part of something much larger. In a Dec. 18, 2025, release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska said grand juries had returned indictments charging 54 individuals in a conspiracy to deploy malware and steal millions of dollars from ATMs nationwide. Prosecutors there also alleged that TdA used jackpotting proceeds to move money through the organization and conceal the source of the cash. Taken together, those filings turn what might have seemed like a regional robbery story into a larger test case for the federal government’s approach to financially motivated organized crime. The New England indictment matters because it gives a local face to that broader theory. Prosecutors are trying to show that what happened at individual ATM sites in places like Braintree, Rochester and Augusta was tied to a wider structure, wider movement and wider money trail.
Why banking customers should pay attention
ATM jackpotting does not usually target customer accounts the way card skimming or identity theft does. The machine itself is the target. But that does not mean ordinary banking customers are untouched. Losses still hit financial institutions, and the response can ripple outward through tighter machine security, reduced access to certain standalone ATMs and higher compliance or operating costs. Just as important, cases like this show how organized crime adapts. Prosecutors say this alleged network did not rely on a single method or a single jurisdiction. It moved where opportunities existed, blended cyber intrusion with physical theft and, according to the government, treated ATMs as a repeatable cash source. If the government proves that theory, the New England spree will matter for more than the dollars taken from a handful of machines. It will stand as another example of how old-school theft is being fused with modern malware, and how local crime scenes can feed into a much larger criminal enterprise.
