A man has been arrested in connection to a series of ATM jackpotting schemes across Central Illinois and has been charged in federal court.
According to charging documents filed in the Central District Court of Illinois in Springfield, FBI agents have been investigating a series of incidents of ATM jackpotting where money was fraudulently obtained through mechanical means or exploiting software. The federal affidavit says 35 separate locations across the region have been hit since September 2024, with 4 incidents taking place in the month of March of this year.
On February 24th, the Beardstown Police Department was notified by an employee of West Central Bank on Plaza Street that an ATM had been broken into. Officers investigated the incident and obtained security camera footage and observed individuals in a blue 2006 Toyota Corolla four-door sedan with noticeable and unique damage to a window and the vehicle’s trunk opening up the ATM. Through manipulation of the machine, one individual placed malicious software on the ATM before leaving. The blue car returned to the location and withdrew an undetermined amount of cash. The bank employee said that four of their other locations had also had their ATMs tampered with between February 23rd and 24th. Over $167,000 was removed from the locations. Through the use of the reports and the surveillance footage, officers were able to identify the driver of the vehicle during one of the instances as Brayan Perez Herrera.
Herrera’s vehicle was then traced to a separate jackpotting incident in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa that occurred between January 31st and February 2nd. Herrera was apprehended by federal authorities on March 31st and remains in custody of the U.S. Marshal’s service at the Sangamon County Jail.
Herrera has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States by committing bank larceny and robbery.
Herrera was formally indicted in Springfield federal court on Tuesday. His next court date was not listed in federal court records.