Three Family Members Sentenced for Stealing $3 Million from Armored Car
After Decades of Living Off Stolen Funds, Husband, Wife, and Son Appear in Federal Court for Sentencing

PORTLAND, OR—On Wednesday, March 20, 2013, Archie Cabello, 65, Portland, Oregon, was sentenced by the Honorable Robert E. Jones in United States District Court, to twenty years in federal prison for his role in stealing $3 million from an Oregon Armored Services armored car he was driving on December 6, 2005. Cabello had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank larceny, possession of stolen bank funds, making false statements on credit applications, making and subscribing to a false income tax return, and money laundering.

Judge Jones also sentenced Cabello’s wife, Marian Cabello, age 60, and his son Vincent Cabello, 40, to 15 months in prison each for their roles in the armored car theft scheme. Marian and Vincent Cabello had both previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The three were ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,755,000 to the victims of the theft.

“The Cabello family spent many years planning and executing their scheme to steal from armored car businesses and banks,” said U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall. “It is through the diligent efforts of our law enforcement partners, the FBI and the IRS, that these criminals were finally brought to justice.”

Archie Cabello had only very short periods of lawful employment since the late 1960s and was persistently involved in theft and drug trafficking activity. Archie and Marian Cabello first stole $157,839 from an armored car in 1995 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Shortly thereafter, Archie Cabello recruited their son Vincent to participate in a scheme to commit another theft. In 1998, Vincent Cabello obtained employment as a vault guard in a commercial building. Thereafter, Archie and Vincent Cabello staged a heist in which Archie Cabello used a hat, a beard, and a BB gun as props and in which Vincent Cabello, posing as the victim, was hand- and leg-cuffed while Archie Cabello stole $730,000 in $20 bills. No one was charged in either the 1995 or the 1998 thefts.

The Cabellos moved to Portland in 1999, and Archie and Vincent Cabello got jobs with delivery or security companies. In early 2005, Archie Cabello left a better paying job in order to take a position with Oregon Armored Services as a driver of an armored truck. On December 6, 2005, Vincent Cabello received a call from Archie Cabello that they were going forward with their plan to steal money from the truck. Over $7 million was on the armored car that day, including two shrink-wrapped bricks containing $1.5 million each in hundred-dollar bills. Archie Cabello drove the armored car to a prearranged location and provided Vincent Cabello with access to the back of the truck. Vincent Cabello took the two shrink-wrapped bricks containing a total of $3 million. Archie Cabello then drove the armored truck several blocks away, handcuffed himself to the door, and flagged down a citizen to call the police. Meanwhile, Vincent Cabello drove the stolen money to a privately owned safe deposit box company in Bellevue, Washington that Archie Cabello had rented.

Since December 2005, the three Cabellos spent about $1,000,000 of the stolen funds. They used more than 100 credit cards to pay living expenses and then used the stolen cash to pay their large credit card bills. Archie Cabello failed to report his $1.5 million share of the stolen funds on his 2005 income tax return. This omission resulted in additional taxes of over $500,000 owed by Archie Cabello to the IRS.

In February 2012, Vincent Cabello disclosed to the FBI and IRS the location of the remaining stolen money in Bellevue, Washington, as well as hiding places for money and keys to the safe-deposit box located in the Cabello home. Government agents seized nearly $2 million of the money the Cabellos had hidden in the safe deposit box and in consumer product containers modified with false bottoms.

“Most American families get by with hard work and sacrifice. The Cabellos, on the other hand, spent years scamming the system, stealing millions of dollars to pay their bills,” said Greg Fowler, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI. “Now, they are rightly being held accountable for their crimes thanks to the great partnership between the FBI and IRS.”

“Most criminals steal money because they want to spend money. The problem with spending stolen money is that it leaves a trail despite the criminal’s best efforts to hide their tracks,” said Steven J. Bellis, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation in the Pacific Northwest. “The problem with leaving a trail, for criminals, is that the special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation excel at following the money and are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure that criminals are apprehended and held responsible for their actions.”

Archie Cabello was first arrested in December 2010, released, and arrested again in February 2012 for violating the terms of his release. He has been in custody since that time.

The case was jointly investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Edmonds and Claire M. Fay prosecuted the case.