Criminal Defense Lawyers

Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Bank Robbery

Willie Sutton robbed banks for four decades. When asked why, he gave the most famous answer in criminal history: “Because that’s where the money is.” Sutton was charming, clever, and theatrical – he earned nicknames like “The Actor” and “Slick Willie” for his elaborate disguises. He was also captured repeatedly and spent most of his adult life in prison. By the time he was finally released in 1969, he had served over 30 years behind bars. The irony? In 1970, Sutton appeared in a television commercial for a Connecticut bank promoting their new photo credit card program. The man who spent his life robbing banks ended up advertising one. His story captures the fundamental paradox of federal bank robbery: it’s a crime that feels accessible – walk in, pass a note, walk out with cash – but has one of the highest clearance rates in criminal justice. Nearly 60% of bank robberies are solved. The FBI catches most bank robbers because banks are designed to catch them: HD cameras, dye packs, GPS trackers in the money, and multiple witnesses in a controlled environment. The crime that looks easy is actually a trap.

Here’s the math that nobody explains to desperate people considering bank robbery. The average take from a bank robbery is $4,213. The federal sentence for getting caught is 8-20 years. That’s roughly $500 per year of your life in prison. Even if you pull off multiple robberies before getting caught – and statistics show serial robbers almost always get caught eventually – you’re building toward a sentence that will consume decades. Federal prosecutors have a 95% conviction rate. There’s no parole in the federal system. You serve 85% of whatever sentence the judge imposes. A 10-year sentence means 8.5 years actually served. And that’s for basic robbery without a weapon. Bring a gun – even concealed, even never displayed – and the weapon enhancement adds 5-8 years. The risk-reward calculation is catastrophic, but people keep doing it because desperation doesn’t do math.

The statute that governs federal bank robbery is 18 USC 2113. It creates a tiered system of penalties based on how the robbery was committed and what happened during it. Basic bank robbery – walking in, passing a demand note, taking money without violence – carries a maximum of 20 years. Armed bank robbery, where a weapon is used or displayed, carries 25 years. If anyone is kidnapped during the robbery or escape, or if anyone is killed, the mandatory minimum jumps to 10 years and the maximum becomes life imprisonment or death. The statute has been federal law since 1934, passed in response to the wave of bank robberies during the Depression era. It remains one of the most commonly prosecuted federal crimes because most banks are federally insured, giving the FBI automatic jurisdiction.

The 60% Clearance Rate – Why You’ll Probably Get Caught

Heres the uncomfortable truth about bank robbery that the statistics reveal. The FBI clears nearly 60% of bank robbery cases nationwide. Thats one of the highest clearance rates of any crime. Compare it to burglary (14%), larceny (18%), or even murder (54%). Bank robbery is more likely to be solved then homicide.

Why? Because banks are designed for evidence collection. Every bank has multiple HD cameras capturing every angle of every transaction. The moment a robbery begins, footage is being recorded. The moment police respond, that footage is being reviewed. The robber’s face, clothing, vehicle, direction of travel – all captured automaticaly. Even with disguises, patterns emerge. Gait analysis, body type, distinctive gestures – forensic analysts extract identification from seemingly anonymous footage.

The evidence collection doesnt stop at video. Demand notes carry fingerprints and DNA. Dye packs explode and mark the money, the robber, and anything the robber touches. GPS trackers hidden in cash bundles transmit location data. Bait bills with recorded serial numbers appear when the robber spends the money. Witnesses in a controlled environment provide consistent, reliable statements. Tellers are trained to observe and remember. Other customers notice details. The crime scene isnt a dark alley – its a well-lit, camera-covered, witness-filled space designed to facilitate investigation.

And heres the pattern that seals most bank robbers’ fate: they do it again. Statistics show 31% of identified bank robbers had been involved in four or more robberies. They develop habits – same disguise, same type of note, same time of day, same approach. These signature elements become the thread that connects cases. What looks like getting away with it is actualy building a profile that eventualy produces identification.

20 Years to Life – How the Penalties Stack

Heres the system revelation about how federal bank robbery sentencing actualy works. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines start with a base offense level of 20 for bank robbery under 18 USC 2113(a). From there, enhancements stack based on what happened during the crime.

The amount taken matters. More then $10,000 adds 2 levels. More then $50,000 adds 4 levels. More then $250,000 adds 6 levels. Every tier pushes the guidelines range higher. This creates a counterintuitive problem: demanding more money HURTS you at sentencing, even if you didnt get what you demanded.

Heres were the loss amount becomes crucial. The intended loss, not just the actual loss, can determine your enhancement. If you demanded “all the money” but the teller only handed over $2,000, prosecutors might argue your intended loss was the $50,000 in the drawer. That 2-4 level difference can mean 2-3 years of your life. Defense attorneys who understand this fight hard on loss amount at sentencing.

The weapon enhancement is were sentences explode. Possessed a firearm during the robbery? Add 5 levels. Brandished it – meaning victims saw it? Add 6 levels. Discharged it? Add 7 levels. And then theres the 924(c) charge – using a firearm during a crime of violence. That adds a mandatory consecutive sentence of 5-10 years on top of everything else. A robbery that might have produced 4-6 years without a weapon suddenly produces 12-15 years with one.

The math gets brutal at the top end. If someone is kidnapped during the robbery – moved against there will, even briefly – the mandatory minimum becomes 10 years. If someone is killed, the maximum becomes life imprisonment or the death penalty. These arent theoretical maximums. Judges impose them. Federal court isnt state court. The guidelines are taken seriously, and departures require justification.

The Weapon Enhancement That Adds 5-8 Years

Heres the hidden connection that can save or destroy defendants depending on which federal circuit hears there case. Theres a circuit split on wheather basic bank robbery under 2113(a) qualifies as a “crime of violence” for purposes of the 924(c) enhancement.

In December 2024, the Eleventh Circuit decided United States v. Armstrong and held that 2113(a) IS a crime of violence. This means the 924(c) enhancement sticks – an additional 5-10 years mandatory consecutive sentence if a firearm was used. But the D.C. Circuit has reached the opposite conclusion. In that jurisdiction, defense attorneys can argue AGAINST the 924(c) enhancement, potentialy saving years from the sentence.

This is the kind of legal nuance that matters enormously but that defendants rarely understand. Were you prosecuted doesnt just affect which courtroom you stand in – it affects which legal precedents apply and wheather certain enhancements can be challenged. A bank robbery in Washington D.C. might produce a significantly different sentence then the identical crime in Atlanta.

The weapon display requirement also varies by circuit. The Ninth Circuit held in United States v. Henry (2021) that section 2113(d) – the armed robbery provision – “requires more then ‘mere possession,’ but requires the robber make one or more victims aware he has a weapon.” In other words, carrying a concealed gun that nobody sees might not trigger the armed robbery charge under 2113(d). But it would still trigger the 924(c) enhancement if prosecutors can prove you possessed the firearm during the robbery. The distinction matters becuase 2113(d) has a 25-year maximum while 2113(a) has a 20-year maximum. Five years might depend on wheather you showed the gun.

Willie Sutton – “Because That’s Where the Money Is”

Heres the irony that defines the most famous bank robber in American history. Willie Sutton spent most of his life in prison for bank robbery, yet he became a folk hero who ended up doing a television commercial for a bank after his release. The man who stole from banks became there spokesman.

Sutton was born in Brooklyn in 1901. He began robbing banks in the 1920s and continued for four decades, interrupted by multiple prison sentences and escapes. He was captured in 1934 and sentenced to 25-50 years. He escaped. He was captured again. He escaped again. By the time of his final capture in 1952, he owed one life sentence plus 105 years. A jury in Queens added another 30 years to life.

The quote “because that’s where the money is” may be apocryphal – Sutton later claimed he never said it – but it captured something true about the motivation behind bank robbery. Its not complicated crime. Its not sophisticated crime. Its desperate crime, or impulsive crime, or addiction-driven crime. The money is right there, and the robbery itself takes only minutes.

But Sutton’s life proves the mathematics of federal bank robbery. Even the “gentleman robber” who never hurt anyone, who was polite to victims, who became celebrated for his ingenuity – even he spent decades in prison. He was finally released on Christmas Eve 1969, at age 68. He died in 1980. The money he stole over 40 years of bank robbery was spent long before he got out. The time was still being served.

Patty Hearst – The Kidnapped Heiress Who Went to Prison

Heres the paradox that made Patty Hearst’s case one of the strangest in FBI history. She was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army in February 1974. She was held captive, abused, and indoctrinated. And then she was photographed on bank surveillance cameras, holding an assault rifle, participating in an SLA bank robbery. The kidnapping victim became a federal bank robbery defendant.

Hearst was 19 when she was taken from her Berkeley apartment. Her family – the Hearsts of newspaper fame – paid ransom, donated food, did everything the SLA demanded. Nothing worked. Two months after the kidnapping, Hearst announced on tape that she had joined her captors and adopted the name “Tania.” Twelve days later, she was filmed during the robbery of the Hibernia Bank in San Francisco.

Her trial in 1976 became a national debate about brainwashing, coercion, and when victims can be held responsible for crimes committed under there captors’ influence. Famous attorney F. Lee Bailey argued she had been programmed through torture and isolation. Prosecutors argued she had choices and made them voluntarily. The jury convicted her. She was sentenced to the maximum: seven years in federal prison.

The sentencing was eventualy reduced. President Carter commuted her sentence after she had served two years. President Clinton issued a full pardon in 2001. But the case established something important about federal bank robbery law: participation is participation, regardless of circumstances that led to it. The court didnt recognize a brainwashing defense. The jury didnt find her coercion claims credible. A kidnapping victim went to federal prison for bank robbery.

The Loss Amount Negotiation Nobody Tells You About

Heres the system revelation that can change sentencing outcomes by years. The “loss amount” that determines your sentencing enhancement is established at sentencing by a preponderance of the evidence – not beyond a reasonable doubt. And its negotiable.

Most defendants dont realize this. They assume the loss amount is whatever the bank says was taken. But defense attorneys can challenge that number. If the teller gave you $2,000 but there was $50,000 in the drawer, was the intended loss $2,000 or $50,000? If you demanded “all the money” but fled when the dye pack exploded, is the loss what you actualy took or what you tried to take?

These arguments matter becuase the sentencing guidelines create clear thresholds. Cross $10,000 and you gain 2 levels. Cross $50,000 and you gain 4 levels. Each level translates to months in prison. A defendant who successfully argues for a lower loss amount can see there guidelines range drop significantly.

The same principle applies to “intended loss” calculations in multiple robberies. If you robbed three banks and took $3,000, $4,000, and $5,000, the government might argue your pattern showed intended losses of $20,000 each – tripling your enhancement exposure. Defense attorneys challenge these calculations by examining what was actualy demanded, what was actualy possible to take, and what evidence supports the prosecutors’ theory.

What Happens When You Have Co-Defendants

Heres the consequence cascade that destroys defendants who rob banks with partners. Federal prosecution creates a race to the prosecutor’s office, and whoever finishes first wins.

If you have co-defendants, prepare for betrayal. Thats not cynicism – thats federal criminal procedure. The first person to cooperate gets the best deal. There testimony is most valuable becuase prosecutors need it to make there case. The second person gets an okay deal – usefull but not essential. By the third person, prosecutors have what they need. The last person to try cooperating finds that nobody needs there help anymore. They get stuck with the longest sentence, and they might even receive a “leadership enhancement” for being characterized as the organizer.

This dynamic plays out predictably. The getaway driver flips on the person who entered the bank. The person who entered flips on whoever supplied the gun. Everyone tries to minimize there own role while maximizing everyone else’s. The defendant who insists on loyalty – who refuses to cooperate – ends up serving the sentence that cooperation would have reduced for someone else.

Heres the additional trap: statements you make about co-defendants become evidence. If you tell prosecutors that your partner planned the robbery, you’ve just helped build there case against both of you. Your statement proves conspiracy. Your statement proves intent. Your statement fills gaps in the evidence. Cooperation helps you only if it helps prosecutors more.

What To Do If Your Facing Federal Bank Robbery Charges

If your facing federal bank robbery charges under 18 USC 2113 – wheather for a note job, an armed robbery, or conspiracy – heres what you need to understand immediatly.

Assess the weapon enhancement exposure. If no weapon was involved, your maximum is 20 years and guidelines will probly produce 4-8 years for a first offense. If a weapon was possessed, brandished, or discharged, the enhancement can double your exposure. Know which category applies and wheather the enhancement can be challenged in your circuit.

Calculate the loss amount. The difference between “under $10,000” and “over $50,000” can be years of your life. Challenge the prosecutor’s loss calculation if facts support a lower number. The standard is preponderance of the evidence, not beyond reasonable doubt – meaning vigorous advocacy can move this number.

Evaluate cooperation timing. If you have co-defendants, understand the race dynamics. Early cooperation produces better outcomes then late cooperation. Waiting to see what happens usualy means waiting to get the worst deal.

Understand the 85% rule. Federal sentences mean federal time. Theres no parole. You serve 85% minimum. A 10-year sentence is 8.5 years actualy served. Plan accordingly.

Consider the circuit split. Wheather your robbery qualifies as a “crime of violence” for 924(c) purposes may depend on were you were prosecuted. This affects wheather an additional 5-10 year consecutive sentence applies.

Federal bank robbery law was designed to catch the Depression-era bandits who crossed state lines robbing banks. Today it catches everyone who robs a federally insured institution – which is almost every bank. The 60% clearance rate means you’ll probly get caught. The sentencing structure means you’ll serve close to a decade minimum if you do.

The FBI maintains the Bank Crime Statistics database, documenting every offender and every offense characteristic across the entire country. Your robbery becomes data. Your method becomes a profile. If you rob again – and statistics show most bank robbers do – that profile connects your cases and accelerates your capture. The system is designed to identify and capture repeat offenders, and most bank robbers become repeat offenders becuase the first robbery feels easy until they realize the money runs out faster then expected.

Willie Sutton learned this hard lesson over 40 years and 30+ years in prison. Patty Hearst learned it despite being a kidnapping victim first. The money in the bank looks accessible and easy to take, but the price of taking it is measured in decades of freedom you’ll never get back.