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Press Release
On September 28, 2018, U.S. District Court Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks sentenced Matthew Geoffrey Larson, 26, of West Palm Beach, to over 7.5 years in prison following his bank robbery and Hobbs Act robbery convictions.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and Robert Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
On July 25, 2018, Larson pled guilty to both counts of the Superseding Information charging him with bank robbery and Hobbs Act robbery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2113(a) and 1951(a) (Case No. 18-80107-CR-Middlebrooks). Judge Middlebrooks sentenced Larson to a total of 92 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Larson was also ordered to pay $5,199 in restitution.
According to court documents, including an agreed upon factual proffer entered into by the defendant, on Friday, April 27, 2018, at approximately 5:15 p.m., Larson and a female companion, later determined to be 18 years old, entered the JP Morgan Chase Bank located at 1480 Greenview Shores Boulevard, Wellington, Florida. Larson and the female approached the teller station where the female robber held up in front of the teller a hand-written note while Larson stood behind her. The note read “No sudden movement, no alarm, no dye pack, if you do you’ll die.” After reading the note, the teller complied with the robbers’ demand and handed over the money from her counter drawer, a total of $4,420.00. Larson and the female then fled the bank.
Nine days later, on May 8, 2018, at approximately 3:35 p.m., Larson and the same female entered the Chic Boutique in Jupiter, Florida, and robbed the store clerk utilizing a note very similar to the one used in the Chase robbery, demanding money and directing the clerk not to activate a panic button or call the police. Again, the female robber handed the clerk the note while Larson stood behind her. Larson and the female robber fled the store with $152.00.
The female robber is currently facing state charges for the Jupiter robbery. A charging instrument contains accusations. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the FBI in this matter. Mrs. Fajardo Orshan thanked the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and Jupiter Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Jorgensen.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.