Maite Celis Silva will be sentenced in June for her role with a criminal crew that posed as construction workers – with hard hats, safety vests and masks – and used professional-grade power tools to crack open credit union and bank ATM safes and vaults, causing more than $5.5 million in losses.
Celis, 27, of Chile, and 10 co-defendants were part of a South American Theft Group (SATG) that broke into credit unions and banks to steal ATM money from May to October 2024 in California, Oregon and Washington. She pleaded guilty to bank robbery and conspiracy to commit bank robbery, the U.S. Attorney's office in Sacramento, Calif., announced on Feb. 10.
According to a criminal complaint, the criminal crew successfully broke into 11 credit union ATMs stealing nearly $2 million and unsuccessfully burglarized six additional credit union ATMs. They also successfully cracked open three bank ATMs, taking nearly $600,000, and attempted to break into one additional bank ATM.
FBI investigators became aware of the criminal crew shortly after a credit union larceny attempt was made on June 12, at a Golden 1 Credit Union ATM in Merced, Calif. The FBI next learned of a successful ATM larceny at Wells Fargo branch in Fresno, Calif., where the crew broke into an ATM and stole more than $81,000 on May 5.
After reviewing security videos, investigators determined the suspects targeted public facing wall-mounted ATMs at strip shopping centers. They also targeted ATMs kiosks after normal business hours.
First, the suspects used black spray paint to block the lenses of nearby exterior surveillance cameras. Next, they broke into a business adjacent to a credit union or bank and cut through the shared wall, gaining access to the ATM service room. The suspects then covered interior security cameras and activated signal jammers to block alarms or communications. After prying open the ATM with crowbars, the suspects used blowtorches, power saws and other tools to crack open the ATM's money safes and vaults.
Before using the power tools, they also taped over fire alarms to prevent them from alerting authorities when the suspects used a blowtorch, and covered fire sprinklers with duct tape to keep them from activating when they were using the blowtorch.
Investigators said the suspects used these same methods to steal $1,986,263 from credit union ATMs, including:
- $152,420 from the Golden 1 ATM in Citrus Heights, Calif., on May 22, 2024;
- $287,387 from the Golden 1 ATM in Sacramento on May 27;
- $226,000 from the Golden 1 ATM in Auburn, Calif., on June 1;
- $280,000 from the Ventura County Credit Union ATM in Oxnard, Calif., on June 14;
- $312,000 from the Educational Employees Credit Union ATM in Clovis, Calif., on June 21;
- $55,515 from the Wescom Financial ATM in Lakewood, Calif., on July 13;
- $36,981 from the Wescom Financial ATM in Long Beach, Calif., on July 21;
- $238,519 from the San Diego County Credit Union (SDCCU) ATM in Temecula, Calif., on July 29;
- $138,710 from the SDCCU ATM in Temecula on July 31;
- $200,000 from the Educational Employees ATM in Fresno on Sept. 15; and,
- $58,740 from the Golden 1 ATM in Rocklin, Calif., on Sept. 22.
The suspects also attempted six additional ATM thefts that were unsuccessful at Golden 1, Educational Employees, Wescom and Valley Credit Union.
On May 5, the criminal crew robbed three Wells Fargo ATMs in Fresno for $81,860, in Mission Viejo, Calif., for $263,831 on July 24 and in Modesto, Calif., for $250,000 on Sept. 18. The total loss: $595,691, according to the criminal complaint. They also attempted to rob the Comerica Bank ATM in Anaheim, Calif., on May 15 and the Loomis Armored Facility in Stockton, Calif., on July 4.
Eight of the 11 defendants have entered not guilty pleas, and one has not entered a plea yet. Although charges were dismissed without prejudice against one defendant, prosecutors will be allowed to refile charges if warranted.
Celis was the first person from the theft ring to plead guilty on Feb. 9 in U.S. District Court in Fresno. She played a logistical role in coordinating the ATM burglary scheme. Investigators determined Celis rented multiple Airbnbs that coincided with the timing and locations of nine ATM burglaries, according to her plea agreement.
The criminal crews rented stolen vehicles from an underground rental network to scout the targeted ATMs and transport the conspirators.
Court documents also noted that similar unsuccessful ATM burglaries occurred in January 2024 at a Wells Fargo ATM in Houston, Texas, and two bank ATMs in Oregon were also unsuccessfully attacked after September 2024. The Oregon bank or banks were not identified. By October, the suspects also allegedly entered the Solarity building on West Nob Hill in Yakima, Wash., which housed both bank and credit union ATMs. The bank and credit union ATMs were not identified.
READ MORE: The FBI's Criminal Complaint.
Peter Strozniak can be reached at peter.strozniak@arc-network.com.
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