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A string of ATM and bank robberies throughout Oregon, California, and Washington, amounting to over $5.5 million, led to a guilty plea yesterday by a member of the South American theft group.
Francisco Antonio Marin Ilbaca (46), of Chile, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank robbery, according to a press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of California.
They Rented Cars on the Black Market to Scout Locations
Together with nine other members of the theft group, Ilbaca rented cars on the black market to scout potential bank and ATM locations in advance of each crime.
Once they had identified suitable locations, the men disguised themselves as construction workers. They armed themselves with blowtorches to cut open the ATMs, and used cell phone jamming devices, among other sophisticated tactics, to break into the banks and ATMs to steal the cash.
According to court documents. Ilbaca and his co-defendants were members of a South American group that conspired to rob financial institutions between May and October, 2024.
Ilbaca will be sentenced on June 8, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Kirk E. Sherriff and faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit bank robbery.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as several police departments and sheriff’s offices. Prosecuting the case are Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert L. Veneman-Hughes and Justin J. Gilio.
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