Two plead guilty in multi-state ATM bank robbery scheme

Seattle – Two Texas men pleaded guilty over the last few weeks to four counts of bank robbery and two counts of attempted bank robbery for their scheme to steal from banks by assaulting and threatening ATM technicians, announced First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd.

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 disable ATM machines, and when the technician showed up to fix the machine, they would threaten or assault the technician to steal the cash containers, called cassettes, from the ATM. Both men are scheduled for sentencing by U.S. District Judge James L. Robart in April.

According to the plea agreements, in December 2024, the pair worked together to disable 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, Washington. After the technician arrived and began repairing the machine, he was forcibly confronted by Hogg and Coles-Body 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.

The next day in Vancouver, Washington, a technician was sent to repair a Bank of America ATM on SE Mill Plain Boulevard. As the technician started repairs, Hogg and Coles-Body ran up and intimidated the victim 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.

The defendants also admitted they had disabled a Bank of America ATM in Battleground, Washington, that same day. 

While the investigations were ongoing in Washington, Hogg and Coles-Body were identified in connection with ATM tampering cases on January 3, 2025, in the Phoenix, Arizona area. ATMs for Bank of America and Wells Fargo had been tampered with like the Washington ATMs. Hogg and Coles-Body were stopped by Phoenix law enforcement while attempting to rob one of the ATMs they had disabled.

On March 7, 2025, the defendants committed another robbery at Bank of America in Redmond, Washington. An ATM repair technician was working on the machine that had been disabled by Hogg and Coles-Body.  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 with approximately $209,000 in cash. The cash was seized, and Coles-Body was released.

In May 2025, Hogg and Coles-Body were back in Houston, where they reside, and committed another robbery of a Wells Fargo. A repair technician had the machine open to make repairs, and Coles-Body rushed the technician and caused injuries. The men stole about $117,000 from the machine and abandoned their car a short distance away.

In June 2025, the men traveled to Oregon and disabled ATMs in Tigard and Hillsboro. While in the area, the men robbed an ATM customer who had just used a different machine.

Hogg and Coles-Body then drove from Oregon to Maine and on June 30, 2025, they disabled a Bank of America ATM in South Portland, Maine. While the technician was making repairs the men rushed and beat the technician, stealing $47,000 from the Bank of America. 

The men left Maine and drove across the country to Jackson, Mississippi where they were arrested in a traffic stop. They had stolen firearms and significant amounts of cash in the car.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend a sentence of 121 months, or the high end of the sentencing guidelines range – whatever is higher. The defense agrees to request a sentence within the guidelines range calculated by Judge Robart at the time of sentencing.

Both men have agreed to pay restitution to the victims currently determined to be $768,900.  They also agreed to pay damages including medical expenses for the victim technicians.

The plea agreements resolve all the cases in Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Texas, Maine, and Mississippi. Judge Robart will consider all relevant conduct in determining the appropriate sentence.

Bank Robbery and Attempted Bank Robbery are punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The case was investigated by the Vancouver, Phoenix, and Houston offices of the FBI and state law enforcement, the Columbia River Organized Crime Task Force, and state law enforcement partners in Hillsboro Oregon, Battleground, Washington, and Jackson, Mississippi. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Amanda McDowell, with assistance from the United States Attorney’s Offices in Phoenix and Houston.