Two Venezuelan Men Sentenced to 78 Months in ATM ‘Jackpotting’ Scheme That Funded Terror Group Tren de Aragua

LINCOLN, Neb. — Two Venezuelan nationals were sentenced to federal prison this month for their roles in an international ATM hacking conspiracy that stole millions of dollars and funneled proceeds to the violent transnational criminal organization Tren de Aragua, according to court documents and federal prosecutors.

Carlos Javier Padron, 36, received a 78-month sentence on June 25, following co-defendant Oddry Arnoldo Cabrera Torrealba, 37, who was sentenced to the same term on June 11. Both men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank burglary and computer fraud for their involvement in deploying sophisticated malware known as “Ploutus” across ATMs throughout the United States.

The pair were arrested in October 2024 by the Lincoln Police Department while actively carrying out a jackpotting operation at an ATM site. Authorities said the malware they deployed allowed co-conspirators to force ATMs to dispense cash on command while simultaneously deleting evidence of its presence to avoid detection by financial institutions.

“Crimes like this undermine the security of our financial institutions and fuel the operations of violent transnational criminal organizations such as Tren de Aragua,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Federal prosecutors described ATM jackpotting as the primary revenue source for Tren de Aragua, a prison gang that originated in Venezuela in the mid-2000s and has since expanded throughout the Western Hemisphere, establishing a presence in the United States. The organization’s criminal portfolio includes drug and firearms trafficking, sex trafficking, kidnapping, robbery, extortion, and murder.

“ATM jackpotting is TdA’s business plan and their assessed primary source of revenue to fund their terrorist activities,” said U.S. Attorney Lesley Woods for the District of Nebraska.

The investigation has led to indictments against 96 additional defendants since Padron and Torrealba’s arrests, with charges including material support to a designated foreign terror organization, bank burglary, money laundering, and computer fraud. The court ordered both men to jointly pay $1,537,696 in restitution to the multiple victim banks.

Mexican Man Extradited, Pleads Guilty in Smuggling Ring That Made $30 Million Moving Thousands Across U.S. Border

SAN ANTONIO — A Mexican national extradited from his home country pleaded guilty Monday to charges that he helped operate a sprawling alien-smuggling enterprise that transported as many as 3,000 migrants from nine countries into the United States over just two years, netting up to $30 million in illegal proceeds, federal prosecutors said.

Efrain Zuniga-Garcia, 38, admitted to conspiring to bring aliens into the U.S. for financial gain, according to court documents filed in the Western District of Texas. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of three years in prison, with a final sentencing date yet to be set.

The smuggling organization, which operated from November 2020 through September 2023, moved migrants from Afghanistan, Yemen, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, and Ecuador across the southern border. The network used stash houses in Monterrey and Piedras Negras, Mexico, where Zuniga-Garcia managed the Monterrey location and coordinated with other members to transport aliens to the border.

Once housed, the migrants were handed off to armed foot guides – known as coyotes – who led them across the Rio Grande River into the United States.

The conspiracy was directed by a Brazilian-based Pakistani smuggler, who contracted with the migrants and worked with a San Antonio-based facilitator and an Honduran national, Enil Edil Mejia-Zuniga. Mejia-Zuniga admitted that the organization smuggled between 2,500 and 3,000 people in two years, charging each migrant between $6,500 and $12,000. That translated to an estimated $16 million to $30 million in total revenue.

Mejia-Zuniga was sentenced to 10 years in prison in July 2025. Another co-defendant, Monica Hernandez-Palma of Mexico, received a 41-month sentence in May 2026.

Zuniga-Garcia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bring aliens to the United States, bringing an alien for financial gain, and aiding and abetting. His extradition from Mexico was secured with assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

Honduran Man Sentenced to 8 Years in $89 Million Payroll Fraud Scheme That Employed Illegal Aliens, Cheated U.S. Taxpayers

TAMPA, Fla. — A Honduran national living illegally in the United States was sentenced Wednesday to 96 months in federal prison for orchestrating a years-long off-the-books cash payroll scheme that processed $89 million in checks, evaded more than $38 million in taxes, and facilitated the employment of unauthorized workers across the construction industry, according to court documents.

Mario Flores, of Honduras, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. From 2015 to 2022, he and his co-conspirators used a series of shell companies to run an unlicensed check-cashing and cash courier service, charging construction subcontractors a percentage fee for cashing their payroll checks.

The scheme allowed contractors to pay workers entirely in cash, without withholding or paying required payroll taxes, and without verifying workers’ legal status to work in the United States. Flores also caused false tax documents to be filed with the Internal Revenue Service to conceal the operation.

“Today, we held an illegal alien from Honduras accountable for a brazen scheme that stole more than $38 million from American taxpayers to facilitate the employment of illegal aliens,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division.

Prosecutors said the conspiracy also defrauded workers’ compensation insurance companies by leasing certificates of insurance to contractors and providing false information about the number of workers covered and the amounts they were paid.

Flores’s co-defendants have already been sentenced. Iris Villafranca received 17 years in prison and was ordered to pay more than $38 million in restitution to the United States and forfeit $89 million in criminal proceeds. Osman Zapata was sentenced to more than four years and ordered to pay over $2.5 million in restitution. Francisco Alvarez received four years of probation and was ordered to pay more than $2.3 million. Co-conspirator Michael Mayorga is awaiting sentencing.