Chilean ATM Robbery Crew Member Pleads Guilty to Bank Robbery and Conspiring to Commit Bank Robbery

A member of an ATM robbery crew, Maite Celis Silva, 27, of Chile, pleaded guilty on Monday to bank robbery and conspiracy to commit bank robbery arising from a string of robberies of banks and ATMs throughout California, Oregon, and Washington, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to court documents, Celis and her co-defendants were part of a South American theft group that conspired to break into and steal money from financial institutions between May and October of 2024. To assist her co-conspirators, Celis rented short-term vacation properties near the banks and ATMs that the crew intended to target. Those vacation rental properties served as staging locations for the robberies. The conspirators rented cars on the black market to transport themselves to and from the robbery locations. Once they identified ATMs in vulnerable locations, they then used construction-crew disguises, blowtorches, and cellphone jammers, among other sophisticated tactics, to break into the banks and ATMs and steal cash. The total loss amount caused by the conspiracy while Celis was a participant was more than $5.5 million.

Nine others are currently charged for their roles in the conspiracy. The charges against those defendants are only allegations; they are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Celis is set for sentencing on June 1, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Kirk E. Sherriff. Celis faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison for bank robbery and five years in prison for conspiracy to commit bank robbery. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the police departments of the cities of Fresno, Citrus Heights, Clovis, Elk Grove, Fresno, Modesto, Rocklin, Roseville, and Sacramento, as well as the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, conducted the investigation with assistance from the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office, and the Seattle Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert L. Veneman-Hughes and Justin J. Gilio are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.