Five arrested in alleged ‘jackpotting’ scheme to make Utah ATM dispense cash

Five people have been accused of robbing a Deseret First Credit Union in Sandy — without setting foot inside the building.

Charges filed in U.S. District Court accuse the five of carrying out a so-called “jackpotting” scheme on Sunday by breaking into an ATM at the credit union at 9325 S. Village Shop Drive (about 1000 East) and installing hardware infected with malware.

The malware enabled one of the conspirators to direct the ATM to dispense cash, according to a criminal complaint.

Moments later, four of the five defendants — who were under surveillance by law enforcement — were arrested either near a car that was parked in front of the credit union’s ATM or in the parking lot.

The ATM was dispensing cash, the complaint says, and a bag full of cash and electronic equipment were inside the vehicle, which had been rented by one of the suspects.

The fifth defendant was not at the site, and as of Tuesday was not in custody. The five are charged with computer fraud and bank robbery.

A technician who examined the ATM found a plug-in for attaching a keyboard to the ATM’s computer, some cables and two hard drives, all of which should not have been there, the complaint says. In addition, the compartment that held the ATM’s hard drive allegedly had been forced open.

The arrests resulted from an operation conducted by the FBI and U.S. Secret Service, along with other federal and local law enforcement agencies. Court documents show the defendants had been under surveillance since Friday, when four of them flew into Salt Lake City International Airport and met with the fifth defendant.

The complaint does not detail when and how the five — all Venezuelan nationals — came under suspicion. It does say someone attempted to buy plane tickets for the four travelers using the same IP address and email address and that the email address had previously been used to buy tickets for the fifth defendant.