Rodner Josue Centeno Moreno

Introduction

Rodner Josue Centeno Moreno is a 22-year-old Venezuelan national residing in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, who pleaded guilty in federal court in Alabama to two crimes that surfaced through a single early-morning observation outside a bank: participating in an ATM “jackpotting” conspiracy and possessing child sexual abuse material. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama, Moreno pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Corey L. Maze to conspiracy, and in a separate-but-related case he also pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. The exploitation evidence emerged only because investigators searched his phone after his arrest in the ATM scheme.

Background Information

The release describes Moreno as a Venezuelan national whose temporary driver’s license, discovered in a wallet inside an abandoned SUV, listed an address in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Prosecutors say he was the passenger in that vehicle, which was driven by his co-defendant, Deiber Jorhen Castillo Rodriguez, 26, a citizen of Venezuela charged with conspiracy and attempt to access a protected computer in furtherance of fraud. As of the release, Rodriguez had not been arrested. The case was investigated jointly by the Pell City Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service’s Birmingham Cyber Fraud Task Force, with assistance from the Murfreesboro Police Department.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Pleaded guilty. Moreno pleaded guilty to conspiracy in the ATM jackpotting case and, in a separate-but-related case, to possession of child pornography; the release does not state a sentencing date.

Per the plea agreements, in the early morning of 14 June 2026 an officer with the Pell City Police Department observed an SUV parked in front of an ATM at a bank in Pell City, Alabama. When the officer turned around to go back to the ATM, the SUV was gone and the machine stood open with its interior parts exposed. The officer later discovered the SUV abandoned in the bank parking lot. During the investigation, Pell City police determined the ATM had been breached using a technique called “jackpotting” – a criminal scheme that involves breaching the computing compartment of an ATM, allowing it to be operated without authorization.

A search warrant was obtained for the abandoned vehicle. During the search, officers discovered tools, gloves, cash, a cell phone, and a wallet containing multiple bank cards and a temporary driver’s license in Moreno’s name with a Murfreesboro, Tennessee, address. Later that same day, an officer with the Murfreesboro Police Department contacted Pell City police to report that Moreno had called them to turn himself in for attempting to rob the ATM; Murfreesboro officers drove to his residence and took him into custody. Moreno, prosecutors said, had been the passenger in the vehicle driven by Castillo-Rodriguez. On 15 June, Pell City officers travelled to Murfreesboro to execute the arrest warrants for Moreno.

After Moreno’s arrest, a search warrant was executed on his iPhone, and officers discovered dozens of files containing child sexual abuse material. That evidence, obtained in the course of investigating the jackpotting scheme, became the basis of the possession charge in the separate-but-related case to which he also pleaded guilty.

Public Reaction and Consequences

U.S. Attorney Phillip W. Williams Jr. said, “The defendant’s guilty pleas reflect the seriousness of two distinct crimes – ATM jackpotting, which threatens the security of our financial institutions, and the possession of child sexual abuse material, which compounds the harm the victims have suffered,” adding, “We remain committed to holding offenders accountable and protecting both the security of our communities and the most vulnerable among us – our children.” U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick Glaze said, “ATM jackpotting continues to be a growing threat nationwide, causing significant financial losses and impacting communities across the country,” noting that through the joint investigation by Pell City police and the Secret Service’s Birmingham Cyber Fraud Task Force, investigators identified evidence of child sexual abuse material on Moreno’s mobile device. Glaze added that the possession of such material “is a serious crime that inflicts lasting harm on victims and their families while undermining the safety and well-being of the community.”

Current Status

Moreno has pleaded guilty to conspiracy in the jackpotting case and to possession of child pornography in the separate-but-related case, both before Judge Maze. No sentencing date had been announced as of the release, so his punishment remains to be determined. His co-defendant, Castillo-Rodriguez, remains charged with conspiracy and attempt to access a protected computer in furtherance of fraud but had not been arrested as of the release. The case was brought in part under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative launched in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan P. Niedermair is prosecuting the cases.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Moreno’s voluntary surrender the same day the ATM was targeted did little to blunt the evidence against him: the abandoned vehicle yielded his license and bank cards, and his own iPhone yielded the exploitation files. He was taken into custody at his Murfreesboro residence and now carries two federal guilty pleas, with sentencing pending before Judge Maze. The investigation reached across two states – Alabama, where the ATM was breached, and Tennessee, where he lived and surrendered with Murfreesboro police assisting. His alleged accomplice remains at large, charged but not arrested, leaving the full account of the 14 June 2026 attempt unresolved as of the release.

Sources

• U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Alabama, “Venezuelan National Pleads Guilty to Jackpotting Conspiracy and to Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material” — source