ATM Jackpotting Suspect Added to FBI Most Wanted List After Warrant Issued From Omaha

Federal authorities say Anibal Alexander Canelon Aguirre funds foreign terrorists and is considered armed and dangerous.

Anibal Alexander Canelon Aguirre, 49, is wanted in connection with an ATM jackpotting conspiracy investigation.

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) — Federal authorities on Thursday added a suspect to the “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list, issuing a federal arrest warrant out of Omaha and offering a reward of up to $1 million for information leading directly to his capture.

Anibal Alexander Canelon Aguirre, 49, is wanted in an ATM jackpotting conspiracy investigation that federal authorities say generated money for a foreign terrorist organization. The details were shared by FBI Omaha and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska during a news conference Thursday afternoon.

Authorities believe he is armed and dangerous.

Anibal Alexander Canelon Aguirre stands between 5 feet 5 inches and 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighs about 190 pounds, and has black and gray hair. He has ties to Venezuela and Mexico and is known to speak Spanish. He also uses the aliases “Prometheus” and “The Engineer.”

Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to call the FBI’s toll-free tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324). People can also contact FBI Omaha or the nearest FBI office, reach out to the closest American Embassy or Consulate, or submit tips online at tips.fbi.gov.

“Canelon Aguirre led a vast conspiracy to commit cyber attacks against financial institutions in communities across our country on behalf of Tren de Aragua,” Kowel said in the release.

Groundbreaking investigation

Special Agent Eugene Kowel from the FBI Omaha field office shared details about the case, noting that Canelon Aguirre is the first individual accused of cybercrimes to be added to the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted” list. Investigators believe he funded Tren de Aragua by installing malware on ATMs that allowed unauthorized cash withdrawals, then moving the stolen money through a complex money laundering network.

The unusual nature of the case led federal prosecutors to file charges rarely used in cybercrime investigations.

“In this case, this individual — Mr. Aguirre — was charged with an offense that, to my knowledge, has not been charged anywhere nationally before — and specifically with material support based on a computer access crime that is unique to the facts of this case,” U.S. Attorney Lesley Woods said.

According to an FBI Omaha news release, Canelon Aguirre faces multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit bank fraud; conspiracy to commit bank burglary and intentionally damage a protected computer system; conspiracy to commit money laundering; and conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.

“Canelon Aguirre is the alleged mastermind behind the malware that Tren de Aragua deployed against federally insured banks across the United States of America to raise millions of dollars for the terrorist organization. Without the malware, these crimes would not have been possible.”

U.S. Attorney Lesley Woods said Canelon Aguirre poses a serious threat to national security.

“Canelon Aguirre is a threat to national security, and information leading to his arrest would make Nebraska and the rest of the country safer. Arresting Canelon Aguirre would financially devastate TdA, one of the most violent and most active terrorist organizations operating within the United States today,” Woods said in the news release.

Investigators say Canelon Aguirre carried out some of the crimes affecting the Omaha metro area while operating remotely from South America.

“Canelon Aguirre did all of his work remotely from Venezuela utilizing remote access, remote control software to install the malware on ATMs, with assistance from his crews on the ground here,” Kowel said. “…Once the cyber intrusion had been completed, the ATM could be directed to dispense all the cash in the machine.”

Joint Task Force Vulcan, launched in August 2019 as a coordinated federal effort to dismantle MS-13, is investigating the case alongside the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Authorities believe the alleged crimes have cost banks across the country tens of millions of dollars, with the money used to fund Tren de Aragua’s terrorist activities.

Several arrests have already been made. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska reports that 250 Tren de Aragua members have been charged with various federal crimes across the country, including 113 in the District of Nebraska.

The Omaha metro area has also seen crimes allegedly tied to money stolen from ATMs, including a case involving the sex trafficking of minors at local motels.

“We filed that one in the spring of last year, and then that case was brought later. But that is financially related to the TdA sex-trafficking case. So the FBI actually did excellent work in that case — to ‘follow the money,’ so to speak — on the human trafficking angle. And then that led the search warrant that we executed against those area hotels,” Woods said.