31/10/2024
Blowtorches, cell phone jammers, black-market rental cars, and disguises were all used in an intricate scheme to rob banks & ATMs in 3 states this year -- including right here in the Central Valley, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert announced today that 11 foreign nationals were indicted (charged) for stealing money from 30+ banks and credit unions, including locations in Fresno, Clovis, and Merced.
The thieves would sometimes even break into bank vaults -- and just ditch their tools, leaving the evidence right there on the floor of the bank.
The F.B.I. has been investigating the thefts, which took place between May 2024 and October 2024.
Three of the 11 suspects are due to appear in federal court in Fresno this coming Wednesday (November 6, 2024).
You can read more about the arrests & schemes below.
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The following news release is from the United States Attorney's Office - Eastern District of California:
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Eleven Foreign Nationals Indicted for Using Blowtorches and Cellphone Jammers to Commit String of Bank Robberies in Multiple States
FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned an indictment today against 11 foreign nationals, charging them with bank robbery and conspiracy to commit bank robbery arising from a string of robberies at banks and ATMs throughout California, Oregon, and Washington, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, the defendants are part of an ongoing conspiracy to break into and steal money from financial institutions between May and October of 2024. To avoid detection, the crew rented short-term vacation properties near their intended targets and used cars rented on the black market. Conspirators identified ATMs in vulnerable locations and then, using construction-crew disguises, blowtorches, and cellphone jammers, among other sophisticated tactics, broke into the ATMs and stole their cash. More than 29 banks and credit unions were targeted during the period of the conspiracy, with more than $4 million in cash taken.
Nine of those charged were arrested last week and two more were arrested in Washington on October 30. The charged defendants are Alex Moyano Morales, 24, of Chile; Maite Celis Silva, 26, of Chile; Erik Osorio Olivarez, 20, of Chile; Pablo Valdez Rodriguez, 36, a Chilean national; Rosa Bastias Serra, 42, of Chile; Camilo Sepulveda Guzman, 31, of Peru; Bassil Dacosta Frias, 34, of Venezuela; Camilo Alarcon Alarcon, 23, of Chile; Michelle Parada Munoz, 21, of Chile; Alvaro Lagos Mieres, 44, of Chile, and Humberto Jimenez Moreno, 45, of Chile. All defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit bank robbery. Moyano, Celis, Osorio, Valdez, Bastias, Sepulveda, Lagos, and Jimenez are additionally charged with bank robbery.
Court documents allege that the defendants targeted banks and ATMs throughout the Eastern District of California (Fresno, Auburn, Merced, Clovis, Modesto, Roseville, Rocklin, Yuba City, and Fall River Mills) as well as in Oregon, Washington, and the Los Angeles area. The alleged incidents include the following:
On Sept. 18, 2024, the defendants robbed a Wells Fargo in Modesto. Before that robbery, several co-conspirators scouted an adjoining business before returning during the night to cut a hole through the wall of the adjoining business to access the Wells Fargo ATMs. Co-conspirators also obtained cars and rental homes to facilitate that robbery.
On Sept. 22, 2024, the defendants broke into and stole money from a Golden 1 Credit Union ATM where they wore similar disguises as in other thefts.
On Sept. 28, 2024, the defendants broke into Tri Counties Bank in Fall River Mills in Shasta County. They used blowtorches, saws, and other power tools to access the bank and interior vaults within it. During this robbery, the conspirators were interrupted and left some of their tools behind.
According to court documents, investigators tracked the crew to several short-term rental properties in Oregon and Washington where the FBI executed search warrants and found hundreds of pounds of robbery tools, disguises, fake identification documents, and more than $100,000 in cash. Valdez, Sepulveda, Bastias, Dacosta, Alarcon, Parada, Lagos and Jimenez were arrested in Washington. Separately, Moyano, Celis, and Osorio were arrested in the greater Los Angeles area, after the ex*****on of a search warrant at a residence there.
Valdez, Sepulveda, Bastias, Dacosta, Alarcon and Parada had their initial appearances in the Western District of Washington and are being transported to Fresno to face the indictment. Lagos and Jimenez are expected to have their initial appearance in the Western District of Washington on Oct. 31, 2024. Moyano, Celis, and Osorio have their next court date in Fresno on Nov. 6, 2024.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the police departments of the cities of Fresno, Citrus Heights, Clovis, Elk Grove, Fresno, Modesto, Rocklin, Roseville, and Sacramento and the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office, and the Seattle Police Department. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California also received assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the District of Oregon and the Western District of Washington. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert L. Veneman-Hughes and Justin J. Gilio are prosecuting the case.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison for bank robbery and five years in prison for conspiracy to commit bank robbery. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
LINK: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/eleven-foreign-nationals-indicted-using-blowtorches-and-cellphone-jammers-commit
