From Tribune staff reports
PELL CITY — A Venezuelan national has pleaded guilty to charges involving an ATM jackpotting scheme in Pell City and to possession of child sexual abuse material, U.S. Attorney Phillip W. Williams Jr. announced Wednesday.
Rodner Josue Centeno Moreno, 22, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Corey L. Maze to conspiracy in the jackpotting case. In a separate but related case, he also pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography based on evidence found during the investigation.
Moreno’s co-defendant, Deiber Jorhen Castillo Rodriguez, 26, also a Venezuelan citizen, was charged with conspiracy and attempt to access a protected computer in furtherance of fraud. Rodriguez has not been arrested.
According to plea agreements, on the early morning of June 14, a Pell City police officer saw an SUV parked in front of an ATM at a bank in Pell City. When the officer returned, the SUV was gone but the ATM was open with its interior parts exposed. The officer later found the SUV abandoned in the bank parking lot.
Investigators determined the ATM had been breached using a technique called “jackpotting,” which involves accessing the ATM’s computing compartment so it can be operated without authorization.
A search of the abandoned vehicle turned up tools, gloves, cash, a cell phone and a wallet containing multiple bank cards and a temporary driver’s license in Moreno’s name with a Murfreesboro, Tennessee, address. Later that day, Moreno contacted Murfreesboro police to turn himself in. Officers took him into custody at his residence. Moreno was a passenger in the vehicle driven by Castillo-Rodriguez.
On June 15, Pell City officers traveled to Murfreesboro to execute arrest warrants for Moreno. After his arrest, a search warrant was executed on his iPhone, and officers found dozens of files containing child sexual abuse material.
“The defendant’s guilty pleas reflect the seriousness of two distinct crimes – ATM jackpotting, which threatens the security of our financial institutions, and the possession of child sexual abuse material, which compounds the harm the victims have suffered,” Williams said. “We remain committed to holding offenders accountable and protecting both the security of our communities and the most vulnerable among us – our children.”
U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick Glaze said ATM jackpotting is a growing nationwide threat that causes significant financial losses.
“Through a joint investigation conducted by the Pell City Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service Birmingham Cyber Fraud Task Force, investigators identified evidence of child sexual abuse material on Moreno’s mobile device,” Glaze said. “The possession of child sexual abuse material is a serious crime that inflicts lasting harm on victims and their families while undermining the safety and well-being of the community.”
The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the Pell City Police Department, with assistance from the Murfreesboro Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan P. Niedermair is prosecuting the cases.
The case was brought in part under Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Reports of suspected child exploitation can be made to law enforcement or to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at www.cybertipline.org.