A sophisticated heist crew traveled from West Hollywood to Seattle, stealing millions and eluding the police. Then the FBI hung up

For months, a group of men and women traveled across California and beyond, cracking safes, pocketing cash and always seeming to stay one step ahead of local authorities.

But now, according to the FBI, it’s over. Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of California have charged 10 people with conspiring to steal millions of dollars from dozens of banks and ATMs. The criminal complaint says the crew consisted mostly of Chilean nationals, several with multiple aliases and fake IDs to back them up, who rented Airbnbs near their intended targets and used a secret stolen car rental service to vehicles used in thefts.

It is not known the exact amount the group was able to steal during 2024. The criminal complaint lists dozens of thefts or attempts in which a total of $2,581,954 was taken, including several where the robbers got away with a quarter million dollars in one fell swoop.

In almost every heist, the modus operandi was the same, with the thieves scouting locations in advance, renting Airbnbs and vehicles, then putting their plan into action. Typically, they painted security cameras, then used power tools and torches to access ATMs. They often wore disguises, such as posing as construction crews, and brought with them cell phone jammers, power tool boxes, sledgehammers and crowbars, according to the complaint.

Sometimes this required going through a wall to access a bank’s cash room, such as last September 18, when the group allegedly entered the Diamond in the Ruff pet spa on East Orangeburg Avenue of Modesto, then cut a huge hole in the wall to gain access. an ATM in an adjacent Wells Fargo bank. This resulted in a cash loss of $247,000 for the bank, the criminal complaint states.

But despite their best efforts, the group was leaving behind a digital paper trail with each new crime they committed. The FBI’s first significant break in the case came when they were able to identify suspicious vehicles that were in constant use and tracked one back to an underground rental service in West Hollywood.

FBI agents learned that the vehicle, a Chevrolet Suburban, was rented from a club promoter who used the Instagram account @xtrackz and who told police he rented the Chevrolet to a person named “Gordito,” who claimed to have need it to go on vacation. his family. The promoter also told authorities he had no idea the Chevrolet was stolen, according to the criminal complaint.

Gordito turned out to be a man named Alex Moyano-Morales, who authorities say had fake IDs and aliases purporting to be a citizen of both Colombia and the United States. Moyano-Morales is now the main defendant in the case and the alleged leader of the theft ring.

After identifying Moyano-Morales, agents began tracking his cell phone location data for the previous months and determined that his associates had rented Airbnbs near several of the thefts. One of the Turlock property owners turned over video surveillance footage from the property to the FBI, which showed the group loading burglary tools into the unit upon their arrival, the complaint said.

In addition to Moyano-Morales, prosecutors charged Maite Celis-Silva, Erik Osorio-Olivarez, Pablo Valdez-Rodriguez, Rosa Bastias-Serra, Camilo Sepulveda-Guzman, Bassil Dacosta-Frias, Camilo Alarcon-Alarcon, Michelle Parada- Munoz, and a tenth defendant whose identity remains a mystery for now. He was charged under the alias John Doe 2.

This case may be the least of Bastias-Serra’s problems. Court records say she is wanted for extradition to Chile in connection with a “2015 theft resulting in death, homicide or murder.”

Authorities say the defendants played different roles in the burglaries, with some renting Airbnbs and vehicles, others scouting target locations and others committing the actual burglaries. Target locations included banks and ATM kiosks in Modesto, Citrus Heights, Fresno, Turlock, Auburn, Rocklin, Anaheim, Fall River Mills and Merced, among other locations. They are also being investigated for possible involvement in a string of similar thefts in Los Angeles and San Diego and one that occurred last January in Houston, Texas, according to the criminal complaint.

Earlier this month, authorities say the group moved to Oregon and may have committed at least two similar robberies there. Four members of the group — identified by the FBI as Valdez-Rodriguez, Alarcon-Alarcon, Parada-Munoz and Dacosta-Frias — were arrested at an Airbnb rental in Seattle, where $20,000 and numerous burglary tools were discovered, according to complaints. . The complaint says Parada-Munoz tried to “delay and fight” the arresting agents and that the other three tried to take off in a Ford Fiesta that was used in some of the robberies.

The charges carry a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to court records.

Originally published: October 25, 2024 at 1:07 p.m