A Palatine man is facing federal charges after allegedly robbing three Chicago banks and attempting to rob another over a three-day span last month.
Matthew Silberman, 27, was charged with four counts of bank robbery in a federal complaint filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court’s Northern District of Illinois.
In his first robbery, Silberman walked up to a teller at 4:13 p.m. Dec. 13 at the Fifth Third Bank branch, 601 S. Clark St., and struck up a conversation, according to the complaint. At some point in the conversation, Silberman told the teller he had a gun and demanded money.
The teller initially told Silberman that there was no money in the cash drawer, but ultimately handed over a bundle of $10 bills after he continued to claim that he was armed, the complaint said. He then took off with the cash.
The following day, Silberman walked up to a teller at 9:03 a.m. at the U.S. Bank branch at 5201 W. Madison St. and started a conversation, the complaint said. At some point, he ordered the teller to hand over all the money in the cash drawer while claiming to have a bomb and a gun in his pocket.
“If you don’t hurry up, I will hurt someone,” he said.
The teller then handed over money from the drawer, and Silberman left the bank, according to the complaint.
At 8:27 a.m. Dec. 15, Silberman walked into the Chase bank branch at 10 S. Dearborn St. and started talking to a teller, the complaint said. He then said he had a bomb and demanded money.
The teller told him that she did not have any money, at which point Silberman said, “Seriously, I have a bomb,” according to the complaint. The teller reiterated that she did not have any money, and Silberman ran off. Chase didn’t suffer a loss during the attempted robbery.
Less than 20 minutes later, Silberman walked into another Chase branch at 55 E. Monroe St. and approached a teller, the complaint said. At some point in their conversation, he told the teller that he had a bomb and demanded all the money from the cash drawer.
“This is not a game,” Silberman told the teller. “ I’m not playing.”
The teller handed over the cash from the overnight ATM deposit, but Silberman did not leave the bank, according to the complaint. The teller ultimately took out all the $20 dollar bills in the drawer and handed them to Silberman, who quickly walked out of the bank.
Silberman’s mother had reported him missing to Chicago Police on Dec. 13, the day the crime spree began, the complaint said. Officers found him lying on a floor the following day at a CVS Pharmacy in the city. Silberman was initially unresponsive, but was ultimately able to sit up and tell officers his name.
During the interaction, he was seen wearing the same outfit that he wore during two of the robberies and the attempted robbery, according to the complaint. He appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and paramedics responded to the scene to evaluate him.
Silberman was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and released in the early morning hours of Dec. 15, the complaint said.
That same day, the FBI issued a press release about the robberies and posted photos of the suspect from bank video surveillance systems, according to the complaint.
The following day, a friend of Silberman’s mother contacted the FBI about the robberies, according to the complaint. She told investigators that Silberman’s mother had told her that her son had admitted to robbing the Chase branch. Silberman’s mother also said that she was planning to pick up her son from a drug detoxification center to take him to their attorney so he could turn himself over to authorities.
On Dec. 19, an acquaintance of Silberman contacted the FBI and identified Silberman as the robber, according to the complaint. All four tellers also positively identified the suspected robber.
Silberman stole a total of $3,513 over the course of the robberies, the complaint said.
He remains held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, according to the FBI. Information about his next scheduled court date was not immediately known.
