They arrived in construction vests and surgical masks, armed with signal jammers, sledgehammers and blowtorches. The bank robbery group, composed primarily of Chilean citizens, attacked several banks in California, according to federal prosecutors, and made off with $2.5 million.
In Fresno, the team crashed into a Wells Fargo in May and used tools to break into an ATM vault through an adjacent unit, taking more than $80,000 in cash. The following month in Auburn, they obtained $226,000 from a Golden 1 Credit Union branch and several days later they stole money from two ATMs in Clovis estimated to have between $150,000 and $200,000 each.
Members of a bank robbery crew scouted their robbery sites and sprayed the lenses of surveillance cameras with black paint.
(United States Attorney's Office)
But earlier this month, 10 people believed to be part of the crew were charged in connection with the robberies. Prosecutors from the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California charged Alex Moyano Morales, Maite Celis Silva, Erik Osorio Olivarez, Pablo Andrés Valdez Rodríguez, Rosa Francisca Bastias Serra, Camilo Andrés Sepúlveda Guzmán, John Doe 2, Bassil Alejandro Cacosta Frías, Camilo Alarcón Alarcón and Michelle Alondra Parada Muñoz on October 21. The charges were first reported by the East Bay Times.
According to prosecutors, the suspects were involved in scouting locations, breaking into banks or other activities related to the robberies. Authorities point to more than a dozen robberies or attempted robberies from June 14 to Sept. 22, from Long Beach to Yuba City. FBI agents say they believe the same network is linked to a January robbery in Houston.
Many of the suspects in the case have been previously arrested in California, Florida and Chile. One suspect is originally from Venezuela and several suspects have aliases, according to court records.
A confidential informant claims Moyano is linked to several robberies in other states and is the leader of the group, dubbed by the FBI as the South American Theft Group, according to court records. Moyano was arrested on March 13 in Glendale, where there was a warrant for his arrest under his alias, Nicholas Hernandez.
FBI agents say they began their investigation into the bank robbery group in May and linked their distinctive tactics to several robberies across California. The team dressed in different worker suits, scouted locations before the robberies, broke into a business next to a bank and used signal jammers to disable wireless security devices. They also used sledgehammers and blowtorches to enter the vaults.
Images of a group of thieves who used tools to break into the vault of a Wells Fargo ATM in May 2024 and take more than $80,000 in cash. Ten people have been charged in connection with the robberies.
(United States Attorney's Office)
A major break in the case came when three vehicles were linked to general burglary locations in Fresno, Modesto, Roseville, Rocklin, Yuba City and Fall River Mills, according to court records.
A silver Chevrolet Suburban, a silver Audi SUV and a white Ford Explorer were present at or around the robberies or attempted robberies.
In September, the Chevrolet was stopped in Simi Valley, but the driver was not linked to the crew. The vehicle was reported stolen by a Hertz rental company, but the driver claimed he rented it to a club promoter known as “xtrackz.” Prosecutors did not provide the club promoter's real name, but FBI agents interviewed him and discovered that the vehicle was rented to a man named “Gordito,” later revealed to be Moyano.
Moyano did not know that the Chevrolet was equipped with an Apple AirTag tracking device. The vehicle's location history matched Airbnb rentals on multiple theft dates, according to court records.
On September 18, the team broke into a Wells Fargo in Fresno, where they took $247,000. According to prosecutors, they broke into the ATM vault by cutting through the wall of a pet spa next door. Surveillance footage of the suspects inside the pet spa before the robbery showed one suspect distracting an employee while another tested the durability of a wall. One of the suspects, wearing a backwards Los Angeles cap, can be seen painting black paint on a surveillance camera outside the business.
The Airbnb was rented to Celis, who had also rented several other Airbnbs in California that matched the times and locations of several other ATM robberies or attempted robberies, according to court records.
Members of the bank robbery team scouted nearby locations and businesses, often concealing their identities with surgical masks.
(United States Attorney's Office)
Surveillance footage from Airbnb rentals in Turlock and Mount Shasta showed the suspects entering the rental units with hard-sided tool boxes, tool bags and backpacks, which matched the equipment seen in several of the burglaries.
Federal investigators say vehicles connected to the group were also caught at license plate readers in Oregon and that at least two ATM thefts were committed there around the same time. Federal agents received a search warrant for Instagram accounts belonging to Moyano, where they discovered that he recorded a child shuffling large wads of one-hundred-dollar bills and another post showed him holding several wads of cash.
In mid-October, federal agents tracked the white Audi to an Airbnb in Oregon. The suspects rented the location from October 16 to 22. All three cars linked to the group were present at the rental location, according to surveillance footage. Valdez, Bastias, Sepúlveda, Dacosta and Alarcón were at the Airbnb.
The group suspected police were closing in on them and hurriedly left on Oct. 18, court records show. The next day, investigators found burglary tools and tool boxes inside the abandoned rental unit.
The same day, location data from the white Audi led federal investigators to an Airbnb in Seattle. Bastias and Sepúlveda were detained and arrested. Valdez, Dacosta, Alarcón and another man tried to flee in a silver Ford Fiesta, but were also detained.
FBI agents surrounded the Seattle home and ordered everyone out. Parada and another woman came out and were arrested. It took three officers to take a cell phone from Parada's hands while she was being arrested, according to an FBI affidavit.
Investigators received a search warrant for Airbnb and found about $20,000, along with backpacks and clothing that matched what the group was wearing during their previous heists, according to court records.
Celis gave birth Monday while in custody. She has asked the court to allow her daughter to stay with her after she is discharged from the hospital.
