FBI Is Seeking the 'Empty Promise Bandit'

Suspect made 'assertions that he will never be able to follow up on' in Denver-area bank robberies
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 25, 2022 4:36 PM CDT
FBI Is Seeking the 'Empty Promise Bandit'
If you can identify this man, call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.   (FBI)

He's been dubbed the "Empty Promise Bandit"—and if he doesn't like the nickname, the FBI would be happy to meet him in person to discuss it. The FBI Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force says the suspect has robbed at least three banks in the Denver area. FBI Public Affairs Specialist Vikki Migoya tells NPR that in banks, the "robber presents demand notes, and in the demand notes he makes assertions that he will never be able to follow up on." The FBI hasn't disclosed exactly what those assertions are.

The FBI's Denver office released four photos of the man Tuesday, saying anybody with information could get a reward of up to $2,000. The FBI described the suspect as a "white man in his 30s, approximately 5'9" with a thin build" and "close-cut, light-colored" hair. Investigators say the suspect apparently hasn't used any weapons in the robberies, but a weapon was threatened in one robbery, reports CBS Colorado. The FBI says anybody with information on the suspect should call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.

Gannon University associate professor and former FBI special agent Jerry Clark says that with improvements in surveillance technology and a rise in cybercrime, traditional bank robberies are in decline, NPR reports. He says most bank robbers now are in desperate financial situations or are addicted to drugs or alcohol—or in rare cases, to robbing banks. "There are these adrenaline junkies that are doing it for the intense rush you get from going into the bank and doing that," he says. "They're far less than the other people, but they exist." (More bank robbery stories.)

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