Man Sentenced for Robbing US Bank in Fargo

FARGO—United States Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on September 12, 2011, Scott Evans Maxwell, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Ralph R. Erickson on a charge of bank robbery.

Maxwell, homeless, pleaded guilty on May 23, 2011, to robbing the US Bank, located at 505 2nd Avenue North in Fargo. On February 17, 2011, at approximately 10:55 a.m., Maxwell entered the downtown Fargo US Bank, walked up to the teller, placed a dark colored bag on the counter and stated, “Nothing funny. No alarms. No cops. Put everything you have into this bag now.” After the teller put money in the bag, Maxwell left the bank. Bank officials called 911 and shortly thereafter, Maxwell was detained by police in a nearby parking lot. Upon arrival at the police station, a search was done on Maxwell’s person. A bag containing the stolen money was found under Maxwell’s clothing.

Judge Erickson sentenced Maxwell to 12 years and seven months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Maxwell has a lengthy criminal history, including a prior robbery conviction of a Westin Hotel in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 2003 and was designated a career offender under the Untied States Sentencing Guidelines. Maxwell was placed on three years of supervised release following service of his sentence and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victim’s Fund.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Fargo Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorney Keith Reisenauer prosecuted the case.