District of Nebraska federal grand jury indicts more than 50 in alleged ATM jackpotting scheme

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A federal grand jury in the District of Nebraska has returned two indictments charging more than 50 people for their roles in an alleged ATM jackpotting scheme.

According to the United States Attorney’s Office, 54 people have been charged in a large conspiracy to deploy malware and steal millions of dollars from ATMs in the U.S.

Officials said this nationwide ATM jackpotting scheme included burglaries of many ATMs located in Nebraska.

One of the individuals named in the Indictment is Jimena Romina Araya Navarro, an alleged leader of Tren de Aragua and a Venezuelan entertainer.

According to court documents, TdA is a violent transnational criminal organization that originated as a prison gang in Venezuela in the mid-2000s.

Officials said TdA has expanded its criminal network throughout the Western Hemisphere and established a presence in the United States.

“TdA poses a direct threat to our communities both here in the Midwest and across our country,” Eugene Kowel, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Omaha Field Office, said. “This violent terrorist organization relies on a wide range of criminal activities to generate revenue supporting their campaigns of violence and terror. This case highlights TdA’s plot to deploy sophisticated malware targeting financial institutions across the U.S., syphoning millions of dollars from American banks to fund acts of terrorism.”

Officials released photos of a few of the burglaries in progress:

The following is a map of alleged jackpotting incidents committed across the United States as of August 2025:

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum term of imprisonment ranging between 20 and 335 years.

This year, the District of Nebraska has charged a total of 67 TdA members and leaders with a range of federal offenses that include material support to a designated foreign terror organization, sex trafficking of minors, assault, bank burglary, money laundering, damage and unauthorized access to protected computers, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit the same offenses.