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173: Tarjeteros
Brief
Alberto Yusi Lajud-Pena, a Dominican immigrant raised in Yonkers, NY, became the on-the-street leader of an ATM-cashing crew after responding to a dark-web ad for “reliable people for ATM runs.” Jack Rhysider narrates how Alberto recruited seven friends from his Yonkers social circle — Elvis, Amir, Jose, Yael, Chung, Juan, and Evan — and prepared blank magnetic-stripe cards encoded with stolen PANs, expiration dates and CVVs. Their first coordinated run on December 21, 2012 yielded about $382,000; Alberto and two confederates then carried roughly $200,000 to Bucharest to hand off to a handler. The group’s success emboldened them to mount a far larger operation on February 19, 2013, when the eight men made some 3,000 withdrawals across Manhattan (roughly 116th to 23rd Streets), extracting about $2.8 million in a single night.
Prosecutors and reporters framed the crew as the “feet on the street” for a global cybercrime infrastructure. U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch explained to the media that sophisticated hackers and backers had compromised card-processing systems over months (she estimated two to eighteen months of access), raised limits on prepaid accounts (one account was reportedly set to a $40 million ceiling), and then passed usable card data to cashers. The cashers coordinated by text, used standard ATM tactics (frequent $800 withdrawals where available, changing ATMs and blending into crowds), and sent large cash hauls back to handlers via couriers and international travel. The aftermath saw rapid conspicuous spending, arrests (reporters said eight indicted, seven in custody), Alberto fleeing to the Dominican Republic, Elvis arrested at JFK, and ultimately Alberto’s murder in the DR. Rhysider ties this episode into a larger operation led by an online alias “Seagate,” noting the case illustrates how high-level cyber intrusion and low-level cashers combine to monetize massive breaches.
Why it matters
Host Jack Rhysider identifies the protagonist as Alberto Yusi Lajud-Pena, a Dominican-born Yonkers resident who recruited seven friends (Elvis, Amir, Jose, Yael, Chung, Juan, and Evan) to run ATM cash-outs using encoded cards.
Key details
- The crew executed two major cash-outs: on December 21, 2012 they netted $382,000 (then sent roughly half to their supplier), and on February 19, 2013 they stole approximately $2.8 million across Manhattan, making roughly 3,000 ATM withdrawals in one night.
- US Attorney Loretta Lynch told reporters the operation relied on hackers and backers who compromised card processors over months; in the February attack a single prepaid account used by the crew had its limit raised to $40 million, and prepaid cards were used because they are not tied to an individual's checking account.
- Operational tradecraft: attackers obtained card numbers (16-digit PAN, expiry, CVV), encoded them onto blank magnetic-stripe cards with writers, distributed identical cards and PINs to cashers, coordinated starts by text, and exploited ATM per-transaction limits (often $800) to maximize withdrawals.
- After the first job Alberto, Elvis and Amir personally transported about $200,000 in cash to Bucharest, Romania for their handler; later Alberto moved large sums to Florida and bought conspicuous items (cars, watches) and carried a Glock for protection.
- Law enforcement and fallout: the U.S. Secret Service and Eastern District of New York prosecuted the case; reporters said eight people were indicted and seven were in custody. Alberto fled to the Dominican Republic but was later murdered; Elvis was arrested at JFK when attempting to flee.