Michigan men take photos of themselves on social media with cash stolen from ATM in Michigan, court documents say and allegedly stealing almost $90,000 in cash.
SAGINAW, Mich. – Two men were arrested and are facing federal charges for their alleged role in an ATM theft at a credit union in Saginaw in 2024.
On May 12, 2024, an ATM at United Financial Credit Union in Saginaw was broken into, and about $88,900 was stolen from the internal vaults.
Authorities reviewed security footage on the ATM and other cameras around the credit union and saw that at around 3 a.m., two men wearing masks and gloves got out of a tan pickup truck, walked up to the ATM, and tried to pry it open with crowbars.
At the same time, the driver in the pickup truck backed into another ATM at the building. The two men then hooked a large gold chain to the ATM that was attached to the truck. The pickup truck pulled the front of the ATM apart, exposing the internal vaults where the money was stored. The duo pried the ATM further, and the truck pulled one more time, dislodging the ATM from its foundation.
The driver of the pickup truck got out, and all three took the internal vaults, then ran to another car parked around the block. The three went in, and the car drove away.
A second car can be seen in the footage travelling the same way. Police believe this was likely the “lookout” for the ATM theft.
On May 14, 2024, a witness reported they found the internal vaults from the ATM on I-675 near the underpass for Veterans Memorial Parkway.
Police learned during the investigation that two white cars were involved, and a stolen pickup truck, as it was seen in footage recorded around the area. The owner of the pickup truck reported it stolen on May 10, 2024, sometime after 11 p.m.
Phone used in Saginaw theft tied to multiple ATM thefts
Law enforcement executed a search warrant in the area of the bank theft to track the records of mobile devices nearby. After searching through phone numbers, they narrowed down to one phone owned by Samuel Fobbs Jr.
A detective in Louisiana contacted authorities in Michigan, saying she was investigating an ATM theft, whose tactics matched the tactics used in the case in Michigan.
She found that during her investigation, she received data about a phone matching the same phone number police found in the Saginaw theft that was also used in a similar ATM theft that happened in Alabama.
The detective in Louisiana said the suspect in their theft investigation during the time of the theft was using the same number police found in Saginaw at the ATM theft. She identified the owner of the phone as Johnathan Walker.
Based on records from the historical search warrant, police analyzed that Walker’s phone was traced in the general vicinity of the ATM theft within an hour before the crime happened and during the entirety of the theft.
Investigators also analyzed the locational data of a phone belonging to Fobbs.
Days before the theft on May 12, 2024, Fobbs’ phone was in the Houston, Texas, area. The data provided a route of travel from Texas to Michigan.
Investigators said Fobbs’ phone was in the general vicinity of the crime within an hour of it happening and the entirety of the incident.
Police also said the data tracked on the phone was consistent with the escape route believed to have been taken by the suspects.
The data analyzed from Fobbs’ phone traced to a Red Roof Inn on Outer Drive in Saginaw. After stopping at this area, the phone’s data then showed a route traveling back to Houston, Texas.
Investigators executed a search warrant of the forensic analysis of Fobbs’ phone and found the following:
Call logs revealed that Fobbs made several phone calls on May 12 before or directly after the time of the crime.
CashApp transfers were reviewed from May 10, 2024, through May 12, 2024. Investigators found that Fobbs and Walker were sending money to each other via CashApp.
On May 12, 2024, Fobbs created a conversation with Meta AI when he searched “Saginaw Michigan ATM theft.” The Meta AI responded in the chat with information describing recent ATM thefts that happened in the Saginaw Township area.
Investigators said Fobbs used the Waze app, a GPS system, to search for the United Financial Credit Union in Saginaw. History directions on Waze also showed he used the app to head to Harbor Freight and Walmart. He then searched for navigation from the credit union to the Red Roof Inn.
According to police, Harbor Freight sells the same large gold chains that were used in the ATM theft. Gloves and crowbars used in the ATM theft were also sold at Walmart.
Pictures taken at Red Roof Inn
On May 12, 2024, Walker sent Fobbs a video. The video showed Fobbs and two other people inside one of the rooms at the Red Roof Inn in Saginaw.
They had what appeared to be several thousand dollars in various increments of cash spread out on the bed.
Several photos were recovered from Fobbs’ phone, showing that he was holding large amounts of cash on May 12, 2024, inside the Red Roof Inn.
On Fobbs’ phone, investigators found a photo taken on May 12, 2024, showing Walker holding a large amount of money in the hotel room.
Police believe Fobbs and Walker were the suspects involved in the ATM theft.
Federal charges were filed against the two on May 2, 2025.
Story by WDIV Local 4 / ClickOnDetroit
https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2025/05/12/michigan-men-take-photos-of-themselves-with-cash-stolen-from-atm-before-arrest-court-documents-say/