FBI Atlanta
Public Affairs Specialist Jenna Sellitto
(770) 216-3162
February 5, 2018

“Freedom Fighter Bandit” Arrested

UPDATE—Nilsa Marie Urena, age 25, has been taken into custody in Tennessee. Urena was arrested shortly after she robbed the Upper Cumberland Federal Credit Union near Nashville at about 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 3, 2018.

ATLANTA—David J. LeValley, special agent in charge (SAC), FBI Atlanta Field Office, requests the public’s assistance in locating a female serial bank robber and identifying her various male accomplices who are responsible for a series of bank robberies as well as an attempted bank robbery.

The latest robbery happened yesterday, January 25, 2018 at the Hamilton State Bank located at 519 Hardee Street, Dallas, Georgia.

At about 11:30 a.m., a female suspect walked into the bank with a male accomplice and announced a robbery to everyone in the bank. The female suspect said she had a bomb and ordered employees not to call police. The female was wearing a white hoodie and her face was partially covered with a bandana. The male suspect was described as a dark-skinned black male, thin build, dressed in black, and in his 20’s.

Investigators are also trying to identify a third suspect (male) who drove a getaway vehicle, described as a champagne-colored Cadillac sedan.

The female suspect has been identified as Nilsa Marie Urena, age 25. Urena has been dubbed the “Freedom Fighter Bandit” because she states that she is robbing the banks for a cause.

The FBI believes Urena is also responsible for the following robberies:

  • BB&T Bank, 4464 Atlanta Highway, Loganville, Georgia, on January 19, 2018
  • First National Bank, 1501 West McIntosh Road, Griffin, Georgia, on December 13, 2017
  • First Citizens Bank, 36 GA-72, Comer, Georgia, on December 4, 2017
  • Bank of the Ozarks, 9001 Hospital Drive, Douglasville, Georgia, on November 3, 2017
  • Georgia’s Own Credit Union, 2437 Loganville Highway, Grayson, Georgia, on November 3, 2017
  • Citizen Trust Bank, 2727 Panola Road, Lithonia, Georgia, on November 1, 2017
  • Associated Credit Union, 5032 Old Grant Road, Ellenwood, Georgia, on October 30, 2017

And the following attempted robbery:

  • Wells Fargo Bank, 6063 Memorial Drive, Stone Mountain, Georgia, on October 30, 2017

There is a reward being offered for information that leads to Urena’s arrest.

Anyone with information regarding Urena’s location or the identity of the male suspects should contact Crime Stoppers Atlanta at (404) 577-TIPS (8477).