Serial Bank Robber Pleads Guilty

RICHMOND, VA—Mustafa Khalil Naeem, 56, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery; bank robbery; and using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during a bank robbery.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Michael Morehart, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States District Judge Henry E. Hudson. Naeem faces a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment on the conspiracy and each bank robbery charge, and up to life imprisonment on the firearm charge when he is sentenced on August 26, 2011. The parties jointly recommended a sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment, though that recommendation is not binding on the court.

In a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, Naeem admitted to involvement in a robbery ring that committed 19 robberies from June 2004, through September 2009, from Maryland to South Carolina, and his independent armed robbery of the Virginia Partners Bank in Fredericksburg, Virginia on September 25, 2009. The robberies resulted in the theft of over $1,000,000.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, in conjunction with the local Police and Sheriff’s Departments for the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia; Fairfax County, Virginia; Charles County, Maryland; Montgomery County, Maryland; Anne Arundel County, Maryland; Howard County, Maryland; Arlington County, Virginia; the City of Alexandria, Virginia; the City of Fairfax, Virginia; the City of Raleigh, North Carolina; and the City of Florence, South Carolina. Assistant United States Attorney Olivia L. Norman is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov.