How much is too much to share on social media? It’s a question many of us ponder. While updates keep friends in the loop, some people take “oversharing” to a whole new level – especially when it comes to confessing crimes! Believe it or not, some bank robbers just couldn’t resist boasting about their heists online. Instead of quiet getaways, their status updates became their downfall. Here are ten times criminals should have thought twice before hitting “post,” proving that sometimes, silence (and avoiding self-incrimination) truly is golden.
10. Daniel Jones
Daniel Jones from Wales went on a five-day crime spree, fueled by crack cocaine. He managed to steal nearly £10,000 by robbing a bank, a McDonald’s, a post office, a newsagent, and even a taxi driver. His methods were bold, using a potato peeler in one instance and a knife in others. At Lloyds Bank, he grabbed about £1,500, and from a post office, he took around £7,000.
Lloyds Bank even offered a £25,000 reward for information. However, Jones made it easy for everyone. He boasted on Facebook, calling himself the “top bank robber” in his area, complete with knife emojis. Tips quickly led police to his home, where they found him with crack cocaine and £2,000 of the stolen money. Jones admitted to everything and was deemed a dangerous offender.
9. Hannah Sabata
Hannah Sabata, a teen mom from Nebraska, wasn’t exactly a criminal mastermind. After robbing a bank at gunpoint in 2012, she created a YouTube video titled “Chick Bank Robbery.” In this strange seven-minute clip, viewed over 2.2 million times, Sabata bragged about stealing over $6,000 and a car. She even fanned herself with a large stack of the stolen cash.
Using subtitles and handwritten notes set to Green Day music, she called her crime spree “the best day of my life.” She planned to use the money for student loans and a shopping spree. Unsurprisingly, police quickly found her. Adding to her mistakes, the stolen car allegedly had a piece of jewelry with her name on it. Sabata faced charges for armed robbery and car theft, leading to a long prison sentence, which was later extended for attacking a guard.
8. Arlando Henderson
Arlando Henderson, a Wells Fargo bank employee, lived a lavish lifestyle for a while. His social media was filled with pictures of him flashing wads of cash, posing with a new Mercedes Benz, and even holding an AK-47. It turned out this wannabe rapper had been stealing from customer deposits in the bank’s vault, taking an estimated $88,000.
He didn’t stop there. Henderson created fake bank statements to get a loan for his luxury car, using the stolen money for the down payment. He also tried to cover his tracks by altering or destroying bank records, sometimes even tricking other employees into helping him. He bragged on Facebook, “I make it look easy, but the sh*t really a process.” Henderson faced numerous charges, including theft and fraud, with a potential 30-year prison sentence.
7. Jules Bahler
In 2014, a man robbed a bank in Bay City, Michigan, with an automatic assault weapon, getting away with $7,000. The very same day, 21-year-old Jules Bahler posted bathroom selfies on Facebook. In these photos, he was holding a gun and wearing clothes remarkably similar to those worn by the bank robber.
Someone saw the posts and tipped off the sheriff’s department. The FBI arrested Bahler, who they also linked to two more robberies in Pontiac, Michigan, where he stole another $8,300. The weapon used in the robberies was found in his car. Before his arrest, a friend had even warned him about the posts: “U tripping, brotha… cops be watching this sh*t, brotha.” Turns out, they were.
6. Jesse Hippolite
Jesse Hippolite, 24, greatly admired William Sutton, a famous bank robber. Hippolite even called himself “Willie Sutton Jr.” on Facebook, giving police a big clue. Unlike his idol, Hippolite wasn’t discreet. Just 45 minutes before robbing a Chase Manhattan Bank in Brooklyn, he posted, “I Gotta Get that $$$$$ Man!”
After the heist, he shared selfies with large stacks of $100 bills, boasting that “crime pays my bills.” He also posted a thought-provoking, yet incriminating, question online about everyone running into banks to take their money. Hippolite robbed three banks in 2013 using threatening notes, stealing about $32,000. A bank teller noted his license plate, and investigators linked his car to 19 bank robberies. His Facebook profile sealed the deal, and he faced up to 20 years in prison for each robbery.
5. Ryan Homsley
When Ryan Homsley robbed a bank in Portland, Oregon, in 2010, he wore a striped shirt and horn-rimmed glasses. Surveillance images led people to call him the “Where’s Waldo Bandit” because he looked like the character. A month later, Homsley, or “Waldo,” struck again. He gave a teller a note asking for $2,000, adding “no die pack or boom!” He only got $505.
Loving the media attention, Homsley posted the bank’s surveillance photos on his own Facebook page. He even confirmed that he was indeed “Waldo.” This led authorities straight to him. Homsley, who struggled with heroin addiction, was sentenced to prison for both robberies, later saying, “I feel so ashamed for my actions.”
4. Arthur Pillart
Arthur Pillart’s friends and family were puzzled by his farewell message on Facebook. He wrote, “well i guess ya’ll know what happened and it was the dumbest thing i have ever done im pretty sure! i apologize to everyone that helped me out i shoulda listened to everybody…” Some friends quickly guessed, asking if he was the one who robbed the bank.
Indeed, Pillart had walked into a Citizens Bank in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, and demanded money. The teller gave him cash but also slipped in an exploding dye pack. As Pillart and his getaway driver, Jessica Artana, fled, the dye pack exploded, forcing them to throw the ruined money out of the car. Police Chief Joe Beachem said their investigation led them to Pillart. Both were charged with robbery and conspiracy. A friend commented on Pillart’s post, advising him to use his time to get straight.
3. Dominyk Alfonseca
Instagram has also played a role in catching bank robbers. In 2015, 23-year-old Dominyk Alfonseca, another aspiring rapper, saw no problem posting pictures and videos of his bank heist on his Instagram account. He handed a teller a typo-filled note demanding “150,000 Bands Right NOW!!” and politely asking police to take a few minutes to arrive, adding a smiley face for good measure.
After walking out of a TowneBank in Virginia Beach with cash, Alfonesca posted photos of the note and videos of the robbery. He was arrested just 22 minutes later. In a jailhouse interview, Alfonseca insisted he was polite and hadn’t committed a robbery because the teller gave him the money. He felt he was being charged unfairly and even suggested the bank teller was at fault.
2. Estefany Martinez and Pals
Two days before the International Bank of Commerce in Houston, Texas, was robbed, 19-year-old bank teller Estefany Martinez posted “Get $$$” on Facebook. Two days later, she updated her status to “IM RICH …” followed by an expletive. Another post described how she could now “WIPE MY TEETH WITH HUNDEREDS.”
Tips to Crime Stoppers led authorities to check the online trail left by Martinez and her boyfriend, Ricky Gonzalez. They were arrested just days after the robbery along with two accomplices for stealing about $62,000. Martinez was reportedly the “mastermind,” planning the heist for a month. She recruited her boyfriend, another teller, Anna Rivera, and Rivera’s brother, Arturo Solano. Gonzalez and Solano entered the bank with toy guns while Martinez and Rivera, the only tellers on duty, readily handed over cash from drawers and the vault. Martinez’s attorney humorously noted that he’d always warned against posting certain things on Facebook, but never thought to include “bank robbery.”
1. John Mogan and Ashley Duboe
Ohio couple John Mogan and Ashley Duboe didn’t bother with a low profile after robbing the Savings Bank in Ashville in 2015. Instead, they posted numerous pictures of themselves on social media, blatantly posing with large wads of their stolen money. Mogan robbed the bank by simply handing the teller a note demanding cash, and he received $6,430.
Police became interested in the unemployed Mogan after seeing Facebook pictures of him smugly posing with cash, some even stuffed in his mouth. His girlfriend and getaway driver, Ashley Duboe, also appeared in several incriminating photos. Both were charged with robbery and theft, sentenced to three years in prison, and ordered to repay the money. Interestingly, a study later showed that cash can harbor thousands of microbes. So, maybe think twice before stuffing a wad of bills in your mouth!
These stories are a wild reminder that what you post online can have very real, and sometimes very serious, consequences. For these ten individuals, a moment of digital recklessness turned their criminal escapades into well-documented failures, leading them straight into the hands of the law.
What’s the most unbelievable social media post you’ve ever seen that led to trouble? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
