ANNISTON, Ala. – A Venezuelan national has pleaded guilty to charges involving ATM jackpotting and child-exploitation, announced U.S. Attorney Phillip W. Williams Jr. Rodner Josue Centeno Moreno, 22, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Corey L. Maze to conspiracy. Moreno’s co-defendant, Deiber Jorhen Castillo Rodriguez, 26, a citizen of Venezuela, was charged with conspiracy and attempt to access a protected computer in furtherance of fraud. As of this date, Rodriguez has not been arrested.
Also, in a separate-but-related case, Moreno pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography based on evidence obtained in the course of investigating the jackpotting scheme. According to the plea agreements, in the early morning of June 14, 2026, an officer with the Pell City Police Department observed an SUV parked in front of an ATM at a bank in Pell City, Alabama. The officer turned around to go back to the ATM, and the SUV was not there but the ATM was open with its interior parts exposed. The officer later discovered the SUV abandoned in the bank parking lot. During the investigation the Pell City Police Department discovered that the ATM had been breached using a technique called “jackpotting” – a criminal scheme that involves breaching the computing compartment of an ATM allowing it to be operated without authorization. A search warrant was obtained for the abandoned vehicle. During the search of the vehicle, officers discovered tools, gloves, cash, a cell phone, and a wallet containing multiple bank cards and a temporary driver’s license in the name of Moreno with an address in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Later in the same day, an officer with the Murfreesboro Police Department contacted the Pell City Police Department to inform them that Moreno had called them to turn himself in for attempting to rob the ATM in Pell City. Officers with the Murfreesboro Police Department drove to Moreno’s residence and took him into custody. Moreno was the passenger in the vehicle driven by Castillo-Rodriguez. On June 15th, officers with the Pell City Police Department travelled to Murfreesboro to execute the arrest warrants for Moreno. After Moreno’s arrest, a search warrant was executed on his iPhone and officers discovered 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,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “We remain committed to holding offenders accountable and protecting both the security of our communities and the most vulnerable among us – our children.”
“ATM jackpotting continues to be a growing threat nationwide, causing significant financial losses and impacting communities across the country,” said U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick Glaze. “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. 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. We are committed to identifying and prosecuting individuals who engage in these offenses and to protecting vulnerable victims from further exploitation.”
This case was brought in part in accordance with Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
If you suspect or become aware of the possible sexual exploitation of a child, please contact law enforcement. Reports can also be filed with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) or online at www.cybertipline.org.
The United States Secret Service investigated the case along with the Pell City Police Department with assistance from the Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan P. Niedermair is prosecuting the cases.