There is no publicly reported Matthew Yussman settlement. In the available record, the former chief financial officer of Achieve Financial Credit Union in Bristol, Connecticut, has not filed, announced, or resolved a civil lawsuit tied to his 2015 kidnapping or to the nine months he spent as a suspect in the crime committed against him. What the record does document is the ordeal itself, the investigators’ focus on Yussman, his eventual clearance, and the federal convictions of the two men who actually carried out the attack.
What Happened the Night of the Robbery Attempt
On February 22, 2015, two masked men forced their way into Yussman’s home as he arrived that night. They held him and his mother, Valerie, at gunpoint, bound them both, taped a device that looked like a bomb to Yussman, and placed a second device under his mother’s bed. They then ordered him to drive to the New Britain branch of Achieve Financial, empty the vault, and bring back the cash.1CNN. Connecticut Home Invasion Bank Heist
The next morning, at about 8:24 a.m., Yussman called Achieve Financial president and CEO Adam Klimkoski and told him to evacuate the branch and hand over the vault combination or the bomb would be detonated. Klimkoski called the Bristol Police Department instead.2Credit Union Times. Home Invasion Kidnapping Robbery Plots Revealed1CNN. Connecticut Home Invasion Bank Heist
Why Yussman Was Treated as a Suspect
Police handcuffed Yussman almost immediately after the fake bomb came off, telling him the restraints were for his “own protection.”3CU Today. Second of a Two-Part Series He was taken to the New Britain police station and questioned for hours. During interrogation, a detective threw Yussman’s written statement against a wall and accused him of being guilty.4Hartford Courant. Victim of Fake Bomb Robbery Recalls Fear of Death, Anger at Police Treatment
A polygraph was administered after Yussman had been awake for nearly 40 hours. Police said the results “showed deception,” and that claim was widely reported.3CU Today. Second of a Two-Part Series Yussman’s attorney, Richard Brown, called the results unreliable, arguing his client was traumatized and sleep-deprived.2Credit Union Times. Home Invasion Kidnapping Robbery Plots Revealed The Connecticut Department of Banking barred him from working at Achieve Financial for three months.
Over the next nine months, investigators searched his home multiple times, subpoenaed his bank records, and called family, friends, and coworkers before a federal grand jury. In November 2015, Yussman was summoned before the grand jury as a “target.” A federal prosecutor accused him of plotting the robbery with an unidentified man and pointed to a restaurant receipt from the day before the attack as supposed evidence of coordination.4Hartford Courant. Victim of Fake Bomb Robbery Recalls Fear of Death, Anger at Police Treatment The FBI reviewed his financial history going back 20 years and examined his brother’s records as well.3CU Today. Second of a Two-Part Series
Yussman later contrasted his treatment with that of Mark Ziegler, a bank employee targeted in a similar abduction at the Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Tennessee. Ziegler, Yussman said, was “treated like a hero.”3CU Today. Second of a Two-Part Series
How He Was Cleared
While Connecticut authorities kept their focus on Yussman, FBI agents elsewhere were tracing a pattern of nearly identical crimes across Connecticut, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina between 2014 and 2015. Two men, Michael Anthony Benanti and Brian Scott Witham, were breaking into bank employees’ homes, taking family members hostage, and forcing the employees to rob their own institutions.5U.S. Department of Justice. Michael Anthony Benanti Sentenced to Serve Four Consecutive Life Sentences Plus 155 Years
Benanti and Witham were captured in North Carolina in September 2015. A search of the house they had been renting produced masks, printed photos of bank employees, and images of a Tennessee victim. Afterward, FBI agents met with Yussman and his coworkers, said there was “overwhelming evidence” tying the pair to the Bristol kidnapping, and told him they would not be “bothering” him further.4Hartford Courant. Victim of Fake Bomb Robbery Recalls Fear of Death, Anger at Police Treatment Yussman was formally cleared in December 2015.3CU Today. Second of a Two-Part Series
Achieve Financial had already begun repairing his professional standing. He returned to work in May 2015 after the credit union conducted two internal audits and a background check to support his innocence.3CU Today. Second of a Two-Part Series When Witham later pleaded guilty, Klimkoski said in a public statement: “The public will now know the truth that we have known all along, that Mr. Yussman had no involvement in the attempted robbery and he will be vindicated by having his reputation restored in the court of public opinion.”2Credit Union Times. Home Invasion Kidnapping Robbery Plots Revealed
What Happened to the Kidnappers
Witham pleaded guilty on March 1, 2016, resolving a 15-count federal indictment in the Eastern District of Tennessee together with transferred charges from the Western District of North Carolina, the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and the District of Connecticut. The Connecticut count was the attempted armed bank extortion of Achieve Financial. He was sentenced to 360 months, or 30 years, in federal prison.6U.S. Department of Justice. One of Two Individuals Charged in Serial Armed Bank Extortion Scheme Pleads Guilty7Supreme Court of the United States. Witham v. United States, Petition for Certiorari
Benanti went to trial in February 2017 and was convicted on all 23 counts, including conspiracy, armed bank extortion, carjacking, kidnapping, and multiple firearms charges. On July 18, 2017, Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan sentenced him to four consecutive life sentences plus 155 years, along with five years of supervised release and $397,788.88 in restitution.5U.S. Department of Justice. Michael Anthony Benanti Sentenced to Serve Four Consecutive Life Sentences Plus 155 Years8Findlaw. United States v. Benanti, No. 17-58679Supreme Court of the United States. Witham v. United States, Opposition Brief
Whether Yussman Sued or Settled
No public reporting in the available record documents a civil settlement, a civil lawsuit, or a claim filed by Yussman against the Bristol police, the FBI, federal prosecutors, or any other party in connection with his treatment during the nine-month investigation. He continued working at Achieve Financial after being cleared and underwent three months of professional counseling; his mother recovered but continued to have some anxiety about being alone.3CU Today. Second of a Two-Part Series He also became a public speaker, traveling to talk about safety and about being a crime victim who was treated as a suspect.10NBC Connecticut. Man Taken Hostage in Fake Bomb Bank Robbery Reflects on Experience If a civil resolution ever occurred, it has not been reported in the sources that cover the case.