FBI arrests group for string of West Coast bank robberies, including in Sacramento region
SACRAMENTO — A group of nearly a dozen foreign nationals led bank and ATM robberies across California, with multiple robberies in the Sacramento region, according to a federal indictment.
The robberies happened between May and October 2024 with a group of eleven people mostly from Chile. The tactics for each robbery, according to court documents, remained largely the same and were enough for investigators to link the crimes from one city to the next.
The group disguised itself as a construction crew, with COVID-style masks, and would first visit the scene of the target ATM or bank. Federal prosecutors say the group's tactics were consistent — forced entry, their style of clothing and disguises — and matched the equipment used during the larcenies, such as signal jammers and blowtorches.
More than 29 banks and credit unions were targeted during the period of the conspiracy, with more than $4 million in cash taken.
In the Northern California city of Auburn, the group got away with $226,000 from an ATM.
The group used vacation rental properties, like Airbnb, chosen near the site of the robbery. They would also rent cars on the black market, investigators detailed in court documents, to remain undetected. However, the same car was used in multiple robberies, which helped link the series of crimes.
Nine of those charged were arrested last week and two more were arrested in Washington on October 30. The charged defendants are Alex Moyano Morales, 24, of Chile; Maite Celis Silva, 26, of Chile; Erik Osorio Olivarez, 20, of Chile; Pablo Valdez Rodriguez, 36, of Chile; 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.
All defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit bank robbery. Moyano, Celis, Osorio, Valdez, Bastias, Sepulveda, Lagos, and Jimenez are additionally charged with bank robbery.
In Modesto, a Wells Fargo ATM became a target for the group, court documents outline. In one instance, some members of the group went into the pet spa next door to the ATMs to distract employees. At the same time, another suspect is caught on surveillance video spray painting over the cameras on the outside of the building.
The cities targeted in their robberies include Fresno, Auburn, Merced, Clovis, Modesto, Roseville, Rocklin, Yuba City, and Fall River Mills as well as in Oregon, Washington, and the Los Angeles area.
