81°F
weather icon Clear

Man hacks New York ATMs and steals nearly $250,000

NEW YORK — They call it “jackpotting.” A Queens man is accused of stealing nearly a quarter of a million dollars from ATMs by hacking them to dispense cash like winning a slot machine jackpot.

Prosecutors say 33-year-old Eric Salazar Montano posed as a technician and manipulated ATMs at a grocery store and kiosk. They say he would return minutes later with accomplices who would, one by one, remove thousands of dollars from the machines without a bank card.

The thieves collected $154,000 from one ATM and $87,000 from the other.

Salazar Montano was arraigned Tuesday night on larceny, criminal possession of a forced instrument and computer tampering and trespass charges.

His attorney, Victor Knapp, calls his client a “family man with no criminal record.”

MOST READ
Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
Get ready for higher beef prices in the US

American beef lovers may face even leaner plates and higher prices next year as US production shrinks to a decade low and tariffs limit imports, according to a US government projection.

MORE STORIES