Two Mankato Men Indicted for Robbing Minnesota State University Credit Union in Mankato

Two Mankato men were indicted earlier today in federal court in St. Paul for the December 16, 2010, robbery of the Affinity Plus Credit Union on the Minnesota State University campus in Mankato. Chop Nguot Tang, age 23, and Anthony Akiti, age 23, were charged with one count of armed bank robbery.

The indictment alleges that on December 16, the two men stole $17,078.51 from the credit union and did so while brandishing a handgun. According to a law enforcement affidavit filed in the case, a robber, later identified as Tang, approached a teller, showed her a handgun and demanded money. He then purportedly went to two additional tellers, again demanding cash. Upon receiving the money, he allegedly stuffed it into a black bag and left the premises on foot.

Responding to the robbery call, police followed a set of footprints in the snow to an apartment complex. There, witnesses told them they had seen a man running down a nearby hill to a white Cadillac. The man reportedly threw a black bag into the vehicle and then jumped in before the car drove away. Police later learned that Akiti owned the vehicle. They arrested him at his residence. Tang was arrested on December 22, 2010.

If convicted, the men face a potential maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. All sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Mankato Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kimberly M. Hare.

An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. A defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven guilty at trial.