SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Carlos Luis Vera La Cruz, 45, of Miami, pleaded guilty on Friday, March 20, 2026, to charges of conspiracy, bank larceny, and accessing a protected computer in furtherance of fraud, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.
According to court documents, Vera La Cruz and others engaged in an ATM “jackpotting” conspiracy where they stole money from ATMs at targeted banks and credit unions around the country. They did this by infecting the ATMs with malware, which forced the ATMs to dispense money without a valid transaction. In June 2023, as part of this scheme, Vera La Cruz targeted seven ATMs belonging to a bank in the Redding and Chico area, stealing more than $291,000 during that spree. In total, Vera La Cruz and his co-conspirators stole more than $2.6 million from banks and credit unions in multiple states.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation with assistance from the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliot Wong is prosecuting the case.
Vera La Cruz is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 28, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins. Vera La Cruz faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison for conspiracy and accessing a protected computer in furtherance of fraud. He also faces a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison for bank larceny. The actual sentence, however, will 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.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Eastern District of California — U.S. Department of Justice press release.