Eleven foreign nationals from South America are accused of running a sophisticated bank and ATM robbery spree across the West Coast.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment against them on Thursday in connection with more than two dozen robberies across California, Oregon and Washington.
According to court documents, the ongoing conspiracy started in May and went on through October.
To avoid detection, the crew allegedly rented short-term vacation properties near their targets and used cars rented on the black market.
They would identify ATMs in vulnerable locations and then, using construction crew disguises, blowtorches and cellphone jammers, among other sophisticated tactics, break into the ATMs and steal their cash, prosecutors say.
More than 29 banks and credit unions were targeted during the period of the conspiracy, with more than $4 million stolen
Authorities say they arrested nine suspects last week and two more were arrested in Washington on Wednesday.
They were identified as 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.
They are all charged with conspiracy to commit bank robbery. Moyano, Celis, Osorio, Valdez, Bastias, Sepulveda, Lagos, and Jimenez are additionally charged with bank robbery.
In one September robbery, the group is accused of drilling through the wall of a neighboring business into a Modesto, Cal. Wells Fargo to get to the ATMs.
When they broke into Tri Counties Bank in Fall River Mills, Cal. they used blowtorches, saws and other power tools to access the bank and interior vaults. Prosecutors say they 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.
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 execution of a search warrant at a home 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 had their initial appearance in the Western District of Washington on Oct. 31.
Moyano, Celis, and Osorio have their next court date in Fresno on Nov. 6, 2024.
If convicted, they could face 20 years in prison for bank robbery and five years in prison for conspiracy to commit bank robbery.
Originally published on International Business Times
