When Is Bank Robbery a Federal Crime: Penalties and Firearm Charges

Bank robbery is a federal crime whenever the targeted institution holds federally insured deposits, which covers nearly every bank, credit union, and savings association in the United States. The controlling statute, 18 U.S.C. § 2113, gives federal prosecutors jurisdiction over robberies, attempted robberies, and related offenses at those institutions. Penalties begin at up to 20 years in federal prison for a basic offense and reach life imprisonment or the death penalty when a killing occurs during the robbery.¹

What Makes a Bank Robbery Federal

The federal hook is deposit insurance. The FDIC insures bank deposits up to $250,000 per depositor per ownership category,² and the National Credit Union Administration provides equivalent coverage for credit unions through its Share Insurance Fund.³ Because the federal government stands behind those deposits, it has a direct interest in protecting the institutions holding them.

Section 2113 defines “bank” to include any member of the Federal Reserve System, any bank organized under federal or state law, and any institution whose deposits are federally insured. Credit unions and savings and loan associations are named separately in the statute.¹ If the institution holds federally insured deposits, robbing it is a federal offense, regardless of whether anyone crosses a state line.

What Conduct the Statute Covers

Section 2113 reaches more than the armed holdup. Its broadest provision covers taking or attempting to take money or property from a covered institution by force, violence, or intimidation. Intimidation does the heavy lifting. Passing a demand note to a teller without ever showing a weapon qualifies, because the conduct would cause a reasonable person to feel threatened. Courts have held that the teller does not need to testify about actually feeling afraid; the objective circumstances control.

A separate provision criminalizes entering or attempting to enter a covered institution with intent to commit any federal felony or larceny inside. Someone who walks in planning fraud or identity theft against the bank can be charged under the same statute as an armed robber, even without force.¹

Non-violent theft from a covered institution is also federal. Taking property worth more than $1,000 carries up to 10 years. If the amount is $1,000 or less, the maximum drops to one year.¹ The reach extends to ATMs connected to federally insured institutions, so forcing someone to withdraw cash at gunpoint from a bank-operated ATM can be charged as federal bank robbery.

Penalty Tiers Under Section 2113

Penalties escalate with the level of violence involved.

Basic robbery by force or intimidation: up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.¹⁴
Aggravated robbery: up to 25 years if someone is assaulted or their life is endangered by use of a dangerous weapon during the robbery or an attempt.¹
Robbery resulting in death or kidnapping: a mandatory minimum of 10 years. If someone dies, the penalty can be life imprisonment or the death penalty. A kidnapping during the robbery or the flight from it also triggers this tier.¹

The $250,000 fine figure comes from 18 U.S.C. § 3571, the general federal felony fine cap.⁴ Courts can also order restitution to the institution for its losses.

Firearm Charges Stack On Top

Carrying a gun during a bank robbery adds a layer of prison time that most defendants don’t anticipate. Under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), using or carrying a firearm during a violent federal crime triggers a separate mandatory minimum: five years if the firearm is present, seven if it is brandished, and ten if it is discharged.⁵ That sentence runs consecutively to the robbery sentence, not alongside it. A conviction for aggravated bank robbery with a brandished firearm can mean 25 years for the robbery plus 7 years for the gun, served back to back.

Accomplices and People Who Hold the Money

You don’t have to walk into the bank to be charged. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2, anyone who aids, abets, counsels, commands, or induces the offense is punishable as if they committed it. A getaway driver, a planner, or anyone who actively helped carry out the robbery faces the same statute and the same penalty range as the person at the counter.

Knowingly possessing or concealing money taken from a federally insured institution is a separate offense under § 2113(c). The exposure tracks the theft provisions: up to 10 years if the stolen property exceeds $1,000 in value, and up to one year if it does not.¹ That provision reaches people who had nothing to do with the robbery itself but knowingly took in or hid the proceeds.

Federal and State Charges for the Same Robbery

A single bank robbery can violate both federal and state law. Under the dual sovereignty doctrine, the two governments are separate sovereigns, and a prosecution by one does not bar prosecution by the other. Robbing a federally insured bank breaks the federal statute and typically breaks state robbery or larceny law at the same time.

Dual prosecution for the same incident is uncommon in practice. The Department of Justice’s Petite Policy restricts federal prosecutors from charging conduct that was the basis of a prior state prosecution unless the case involves a substantial federal interest, the prior prosecution left that interest unvindicated, and the evidence is likely sufficient to sustain a conviction.⁶ Federal prosecutors are also instructed to coordinate with their state counterparts early rather than running parallel cases.

The factors that push a case into federal court tend to be practical: the amount stolen, whether the robber crossed state lines, whether a firearm was used, the suspect’s criminal history, and whether the robbery is part of a larger pattern. Federal sentences for bank robbery are often longer than state sentences for equivalent conduct, and the federal system has no parole, so defendants serve at least 85% of the sentence imposed.

Supervised Release After Federal Prison

A federal bank robbery sentence doesn’t end at the prison gate. Under 18 U.S.C. § 3583, the court imposes a term of supervised release that follows incarceration. Aggravated bank robbery, a Class B felony carrying up to 25 years, allows up to five years of supervised release. Basic bank robbery, a Class C felony carrying up to 20 years, allows up to three years.⁷ During that period, the person lives in the community under court-set conditions that can include drug testing, travel restrictions, employment requirements, and check-ins with a probation officer. A violation can send the person back to prison.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2113 Bank Robbery and Incidental Crimes
2
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Understanding Deposit Insurance
3
National Credit Union Administration. Share Insurance Coverage
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3571 – Sentence of Fine
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 924 – Penalties
6
United States Department of Justice. 9-2.000 – Authority of the U.S. Attorney in Criminal Division Matters – Section 9-2.031
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3583 Inclusion of a Term of Supervised Release After Imprisonment