FBI arrests four in Connecticut ATM jackpotting theft ring

Federal agents arrested four men on June 25, 2026, after a Connecticut ATM theft ring hit machines at rest stops and towns along Interstate 95. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut identified the men as Euclides Moreno Itanare, 28, of Raleigh, North Carolina; Willian Ricardo Flores, 49, of the Bronx; Alberto Jose Freites Arvilla, 41, of Queens; and Luis Jose Freites Arvilla, 38, of Lynn, Massachusetts. The office charged them with interstate transportation of stolen property and conspiracy. All four are citizens of Venezuela and are being held while the case proceeds.

The theft spree ran from August 8 to August 18, 2025, and targeted at least nine ATMs in Connecticut. Eight of those machines were hit, with a total loss of $529,220. The targets included ATMs in Milford and Ansonia and machines at I-95 rest stops in Fairfield, Branford, Madison and Darien. One northbound Fairfield rest-stop ATM yielded $136,000, while another theft in Milford brought in $23,300.

The crew used a jackpotting scheme, a method that turns an ATM into its own cash dispenser by forcing it to release money without a legitimate customer transaction. The attack often relies on specialized hardware and malware, and the FBI has identified Ploutus-family malware as one common tool. In one Ansonia attempt, the theft failed because a software patch protected the machine from this type of intrusion.

Surveillance video showed one man acting as a lookout while another opened the ATM hood and reached the internal components. The suspects also changed clothes before returning to the same machine to avoid suspicion. Cellphone tracking data, surveillance images and a silver Toyota Highlander tied the men to the thefts. The FBI worked the case with Connecticut State Police, the Raleigh Police Department and the New York City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel George is prosecuting it under the Homeland Security Task Force initiative.

In a February 2026 FLASH, the FBI recorded 1,900 ATM jackpotting incidents since 2020, including more than 700 incidents and more than $20 million in losses in 2025 alone.