Michigan ATM jackpotting Florida men allegedly forced machines to dispense 107K mlivecom

pBAY CITY MI Two Florida men allegedly spent a September day burglarizing ATMs in four Michigan counties making off with more than 100000 The next month police found them in a Minnesota hotel amid stacks of cashppThe duo is now facing federal charges for allegedly engaging in a lucrative techsavvy scam known as ATM jackpottingppRobert R Rosales Rivero 43 on July 10 appeared before US District Magistrate Judge Patricia T Morris to learn he had been charged with single counts of bank theft and conspiracy to commit that crime The charges are 10 and fiveyear felonies respectively ppCharged with Rivero is 24yearold Geniver Antonio Pinuela Testa who is in the wind and wanted on warrants The two men are Venezuelan nationals who arrived in the US legally and reside in Miami Florida records showppAccording to an affidavit penned by a Homeland Security special agent the duo on Sept 22 2024 visited four Isabella Bank branches to engage in ATM jackpotting This consists of removing an ATMs cover with a key manipulating the machines sensors and infecting its hard drive with malware thereby allowing the operator to force the device to dispense cash ppIsabella Bank personnel provided investigators with surveillance video footage of the heists at their branches The first occurred about 1 am in Isabella Countys Nottawa Township the second about 1219 pm in Mecosta Countys Barryton the third about 545 pm in Midland and the fourth about 809 pm in Clare ppThe footage showed a man approaching the ATMs on a Ninebot E2 Pro electric scooter and using a key to open it then putting glue on its sensors He would leave the ATM for a short time to allow the glue to set On his return he would reopen the ATM either swap out its hard drive or insert a corrupting device and install a communication device the agent wrote in his affidavitppThe footage recorded a second man arrive at the ATMs with a cellphone and a keyboard He used these devices to force the ATMs to give out cash leaving no evidence of their tampering This man would leave with the illgotten funds and a few minutes later the first man would return and remove the communication device within the ATM the affidavit statesppIn all Isabella Bank lost 107635 in the thefts ppThe video footage showed the perpetrators wearing distinctive and identifiable clothing the affidavit states Using facial recognition software they developed Testa as one of the suspects They also found he had been cited earlier in the year in Wisconsin for speeding while driving a silver 2011 Toyota Yaris registered to his Florida home Surveillance cameras at the Barryton crime captured footage of such a vehicle the affidavit statesppInvestigators searched Facebook and found photos of Testa wearing clothing similar to that of one of the culprits the affidavit states Cell tower data also placed Testas phone in the area of the Midland holdup the affidavit statesppAnother jackpotting incident happened at a Lakeview Bank ATM in Lakeville Minnesota on Oct 6 The thieves made off with 14400 the affidavit statesppPolice on Oct 11 located Testas Yaris at a Super 8 Hotel in Shakopee Minnesota They surveilled the hotel until they saw two men exit a room and drive away in the YarisppThey pulled over the Yaris and identified Testa and Rivero as its occupants Their search of the car revealed a Ninebot E2 Pro scooter Gorillabrand superglue keys that could access ATMs receipts a cellphone a laptop an electronic device and clothing the affidavit statesppInside Testa and Riveros room police found 7900 in cash latex gloves a flash drive and a hard driveppInvestigators searched Testas phone and found photos of the targeted ATMs His phones geolocator also placed it at the scenes the affidavit statesppIn one photo taken Sept 22 one of the men is depicted in a Mount Pleasant hotel room fanning 100 bills in front of his face with stacks of cash on a nearby tableppTesta and Rivero were charged in Minnesotas Dakota County on Oct 14 with theft of 5000 or more a 10year felony Both posted bond later that monthppDakota County judges issued bench warrants for Testa in November and Rivero in March after they failed to appear for court hearings Testas location as of Tuesday July 15 remains unknownppAt Riveros July 10 hearing in the federal courthouse in Bay City Judge Morris ordered him detained pending a Thursday July 17 hearingppppIf you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site we may receive compensation By using this site you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks interactions and personal information may be collected recorded andor stored by us and social media and other thirdparty partners in accordance with our Privacy PolicyppUse of andor registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement updated 812024 and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy and Your Privacy Choices and Rights updated 712025pp 2025 Advance Local Media LLC All rights reserved About Us 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