Chameleon Bandit Sentenced to Federal Prison

SAN DIEGO, CA—United States Attorney Karen P. Hewitt announced that Miguel Dario Florez was sentenced today in federal court in San Diego by United States District Judge William Q. Hayes to serve 57 months in custody based on the defendant’s conviction for five counts of bank robbery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2113(a). In addition to the custodial sentence, Judge Hayes ordered that Florez serve a three-year term of supervised release following his release from prison and pay $10,462 in restitution to Wells Fargo Bank ($5,136) and Bank of America ($5,326). Florez tendered his guilty pleas on September 21, 2009.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman, who prosecuted the case, Florez admitted to robbing five banks in the San Diego area between May 22, 2009 and June 2, 2009. Florez, nicknamed the “Chameleon Bandit” by the Federal Bureau of Investigation because he changed his appearance at every bank robbery, took $10,462 from the five banks during his two-week crime spree. He was arrested on June 2, 2009 by the Chula Vista Police Department after a patrol officer received a radio broadcast with a description of a robber who had just completed a heist at a Wells Fargo Bank in Chula Vista, California. The officer observed an individual matching the description of the robber near a city bus and detained the individual, later identified as Florez. Following Florez’s arrest, the officer discovered a demand note in Florez’s pocket, which read: “This is a bank robbery. Give me all of the money from your drawer. No ink bombs and no GPS.”

United State Attorney Hewitt praised the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Chula Vista Police Department in bringing this case to a successful conclusion.