Cybercrime Prosecutions: ATM Jackpotting Deportations and Ransomware Guilty Plea

U.S. authorities reported multiple enforcement actions against financially motivated cybercrime. In South Carolina, two Venezuelan nationals convicted in an ATM jackpotting scheme will be deported after serving their sentences; prosecutors said they physically accessed older ATM models, connected a laptop, and installed malware that bypassed security controls to force cash-out until the machines were emptied. The activity impacted banks across several southeastern states, with court-ordered restitution of $285,100 and $126,340 respectively, and investigators said evidence from the case contributed to a broader Nebraska indictment of dozens of individuals tied to a larger ATM-theft conspiracy.

Separately, a Russian national, Ianis Aleksandrovich Antropenko, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse for leading a ransomware operation that targeted at least 50 victims over a four-year period ending in August 2022; he faces up to 25 years in prison, financial penalties, restitution, and forfeiture, and the plea acknowledges potential immigration consequences. A third item describes convicted Bitcoin thief Ilya Lichtenstein seeking post-release work in cybersecurity, but it is not tied to the ATM jackpotting or Antropenko ransomware case and does not add incident-specific threat intelligence.