Robbers who vandalized ATMs so they could steal cash when repair technicians opened the machines, arrested in Mississippi

Seattle – Two Texas men made initial appearances Thursday July 17, 2025, in U.S. District Court in Seattle charged with conspiracy to commit robbery for their scheme to steal from banks by assaulting and threatening ATM technicians, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Ahmon Hogg, 22, of Humble Texas and Seth Coles-Body, 23, of Houston, were identified as part of a robbery ring operating across the country. The men would allegedly disable ATM machines with a glue-like substance and when the technician showed up to fix the machine, they would threaten the technician to give them the cash containers, called cassettes, from the ATM.

In December 2024, the pair allegedly were part of a gang that disabled ATMs on December 23 and 24, when the machines would be loaded with cash for the Christmas holiday. The coconspirators disabled a Bank of America ATM in Renton with a glue-like substance that caused the card reader to stop functioning. After the technician arrived and began repairing the machine, he was forcibly confronted by two men who brandished a screwdriver and demanded he open the machine and provide them with the cash cassettes. The technician did not open the machine and after a scuffle the technician was able to escape. Bank surveillance video did capture images of the robber’s vehicle and clothing. The men were wearing masks.

The next day in Vancouver, Washington a technician was sent to repair a Bank of America ATM on SE Mill Plain Boulevard. Again, a glue-like substance had been used to disable the card reader. The technician noticed the cash dispenser was also jammed. As she started repairs, two men ran up and shoved her out of the way and grabbed five cash cassettes filled with currency. The men fled in a car that matched one seen the previous day in connection with the attempted robbery in Renton. Some of the clothing worn by the suspects was also a match for the Renton attempted robbery.

Authorities also learned that a Bank of America ATM was disabled that same day in Battleground Washington, not far from Vancouver.

While the investigations were ongoing in Washington, Hogg and Coles-Body were identified in connection to ATM tampering cases on January 3, 2025, in the Phoenix, Arizona area. ATMs for Bank of America and Wells Fargo had been tampered with – a card covered in glue had been inserted into the machines. The FBI set up surveillance on the ATMs and ultimately spotted a car that bank images connected to the tampering. The car and its occupants appeared to be waiting for a technician to arrive at the ATM. Law enforcement stopped the car and was able to identify Hogg and Coles-Body. They were released from custody.

On March 7, 2025, a technician at a Bank of America in Redmond, Washington, reported he had been robbed. He was working on a machine where once again the card reader was disabled by a glue-like substance. Once the machine was open, two robbers ran up and stole cash canisters filled with money from the machine. Five of the canisters were later recovered, damaged, on the shoulder of highway 520.  A few days later, Coles-Body was stopped by U.S. Border Patrol attempting to travel into Mexico by Greyhound bus with approximately $209,000 in cash. The cash was seized, and Coles-Body was released.

A criminal complaint and warrant for arrest were sworn on July 2, 2025. The men were arrested in a traffic stop in Mississippi, with stolen firearms found in their car. They made an initial appearance in Jackson Mississippi federal court on July 3, 2025, and the Magistrate Judge ordered the Marshal Service to transport them to Seattle.

Conspiracy to commit robbery is punishable by up to five years in prison.

The charges contained in the criminal complaint are only allegations.  A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Columbia River Organized Crime Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Amanda McDowell.