Jackpot: Men Arrested In Teton County Face ATM Theft Charges in Utah, Colorado
Three men arrested in Teton County last week will return Colorado and Utah to face federal charges of robbery and fraud in stealing nearly $95,000 from automatic teller machines, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Isaac Rafael Jorge Romero and Jose Alejandro Osorio Echegaray agreed to return to Colorado to face charges of bank robbery and computer fraud, and Elio Yoel Moreno-Gonzalez agreed to return to Utah to face a single count of bank robbery.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Schickich read the charges to them during their initial appearances in Casper.
Under federal law, "bank robbery and incidental crimes" is punishable by up to 10 years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. "Fraud and related activity in connection with computers" is punishable by up to five years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine, Shickich said.
Last week, they and another man, Ashly Galeno-Basurto, were arrested in Teton County on drug charges, according to affidavits filed by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents.
According to the Jackson Hole News & Guide, they paid their fines for the misdemeanor marijuana possession charges on Friday.
Court records do not indicate why they were in Wyoming.
Meanwhile, an FBI agent reviewed the book-in photos of the men and determined they were involved in thefts from an ATM at a credit union in St. George, Utah, and from an ATM at a credit union in Parker, Colo.
Court records say four men rented two cars in San Diego, Calif., on Nov. 6, and from there drove first to Colorado.
On Nov. 10, two white males entered the vestibule area of the credit union in Parker, Colo., and opened the top of the ATM with a key. They reached inside and pulled out what appeared to the machine's hard drive.
About 10 minutes later, they returned, again opened the top, worked in it, and waited for the the ATM to restart. They were seen using mobile phones. One of them appeared to be holding a small wireless keyboard and began retrieving cash and put it in a backpack.
About 20 minutes later, they opened the top again then left.
The credit union reported $24,000 was missing from the ATM, and that malicious software, "malware," was installed to withdraw cash in a computer attack called "jackpotting," according to the affidavit.
The codes for the ATM are given to the people by phone by a third party, who knows how much is being withdrawn so the people doing the work don't pocket any of the cash for themselves, according to an affidavit.
Surveillance video showed Romero and Echegaray at the Parker, Colo., credit union.
They also were seen at the credit union in St. George, Utah, which reported its ATM had been opened and had malware installed.
An investigation of that ATM determined $69,200 had been withdrawn by at least eight individuals -- six males and two females -- who compromised the system.
One of the individuals seen in a surveillance video was identified as Gonzalez, who rented one of the cars.
Two men who rented another car -- Joel Jose Parco Aguiar and Cristian Jorge Moahamed Gonzalez (no indication if he is related to Elio Gonzalez) -- were arrested in San Diego when they returned their car.
They are charged with bank robbery in Utah, made their initial appearances in the Southern District of California U.S. District Court, and were ordered detained, according to court records.
Court records did not indicate whether the cases will be combined.