Three arrested in jackpotting scheme
Posted/updated on: April 8, 2026 at 3:45 pm
SMITH COUNTY – A multi-state ATM hacking ring stretching across East Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas has led to three arrests. According to Smith County arrest documents, three men were taken into custody for their role in an ATM “jackpotting” scheme in which suspects scouted machines, opened them and connected Raspberry Pi devices to allow an off-site accomplice to wirelessly force the ATM to dispense cash for the crew on the ground.
According to our news partner KETK, once the cash was taken from the ATM it was then funneled to criminal associates outside the United States. The documents also state that the people stationed at the ATMs had to remain in constant communication with their remote counterparts for the jackpotting attempts to succeed.
“Jackpotting requires extensive coordination and communication during and after the attack. In every offense, suspects on the ground can be seen communicating nonstop via cell phone with their remote criminal associates who give orders and provide technical instructions for installing malicious software and hardware,” an arrest document described. “Typically, these criminal groups also stay in constant contact with a minimum of two lookouts roving the area in separate vehicles.”
One scout vehicle, referred to as Suspect Vehicle #2 in an affidavit, was recorded on security footage during an attempted jackpotting of BancFirst in Ardmore, Okla., on Sept. 28, 2025. The same vehicle was later seen scouting near another attempted jackpotting at Southside Bank on Three Lakes Parkway in Tyler on December 19.
On Jan. 11, 2026, the same vehicle resurfaced in Green Forest, Ark.—this time near an ATM at the Bank of 1889, where another jackpotting attempt was reported.
“In multiple documented incidents, SUSPECT VEHICLE #2 was observed engaging in scouting activity prior to attempted offenses, maintaining positioning with clear lines of sight to targeted ATMs during the offenses and traveling in coordination with vehicles used by other suspects to physically access and manipulate the ATMs,” an arrest document described.
“This repeated and consistent pattern of behavior is indicative of a defined role within an organized criminal scheme, specifically providing surveillance and logistical support to facilitate the commission of ATM jackpotting offenses by other members of the group.”
Investigators later spotted the vehicle on security footage at a Phillips 66 in Green Forest, where they identified the driver as Luis Miguel Oviedo Rico and the passenger as Elvis Rafael Oviedo Rico, both from Dallas.
Luis and Elvis were both arrested and charged with engaging in organized criminal activity in connection to these and other jackpotting schemes.
Luis and Elvis were not the only suspects arrested in connection to the scheme:
Suspects arrested outside of East Texas told investigators that a man known as “El Mecánico” — “The Mechanic” — was coordinating the jackpotting operations. One suspect taken into custody in Fort Worth had previously been captured on camera alongside El Mecánico at the Cherokee County Federal Credit Union in Jacksonville.
During this attempt, El Mecánico allegedly helped fraudulently withdraw $160,959 from the ATM in Jacksonville, according to an arrest affidavit.
A special agent with the Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center recognized El Mecánico’s build, clothing and apparent role from at least 19 jackpotting attempts dating back to Sept. 6, 2025.
A search of the Fort Worth arrestee’s phone revealed a WhatsApp user who identified himself as “El Mecánico.” According to an arrest affidavit, that account displayed the name “MichaelToloza.” Investigators then showed the arrestee photos of Mickael Freney Toloza Parra, and the arrestee identified Parra as El Mecánico.
The Fort Worth arrestee then linked Parra to an “inner circle” that included a man he believed to be affiliated with the Venezuela?based Tren de Aragua gang. Parra was later arrested by the Smith County Sheriff’s Office on March 30 for engaging in organized criminal activity.
