A Venezuelan national has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank theft after attempting to steal funds from multiple ATMs in Jackson County, Mississippi. Favian David Aparicio-Linares, 19, was arrested on November 9, 2025, following a report by concerned citizens who noticed two suspicious individuals near a bank on Market Street in Pascagoula. When police arrived at the scene, Aparicio-Linares and another individual fled. Aparicio-Linares was apprehended, and officers recovered several electronic devices from their vehicle.
Investigations revealed that Aparicio-Linares and his accomplice had traveled from out of state with the intent to steal money from ATMs using malware designed to force the machines to dispense cash. The defendant is scheduled for sentencing on April 28, 2026, and faces up to five years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Baxter Kruger for the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Robert A. Eikhoff of the FBI Jackson Field Office announced the plea agreement. The FBI led the investigation with assistance from the Pascagoula Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Buckner is prosecuting the case.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline), an initiative conducted by the Mississippi Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF). These task forces were created under Executive Order 14159 during President Trump’s administration and are joint operations led by both the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security. Operation Take Back America coordinates resources across federal agencies such as OCDETFs and Project Safe Neighborhoods with goals including combating illegal immigration, dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and reducing violent crime.
“Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).”
