‘Bearded Bandit’ returned to the bank after 7 years and robbed it again

On By Karl

Justin Worley wore theatrical beards, wigs and make-up to conceal his identity during a bank robbery in 2012 and was known as the ‘Bearded Bandit’.

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PROVIDENCE – A Cranston man known as the “Bearded Bandit” for a 2012 robbery admitted in federal court Wednesday that he returned to one of the banks he robbed in 2012 and robbed it again seven years later, U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha said. It was announced on Wednesday.

Justin Worley, 44, Man sentenced to six years in prison for robbing nine banks in 2012 He admitted Wednesday to returning to the TD Bank at 440 Pawtucket Ave., East Providence, on New Year’s Eve in December 2019 and hiring a teller, according to Cunha. and the previous report from East Providence police.

According to Cunha, Worley and another man, later identified as Nicholas Lage, 38, entered the bank late in the afternoon of Dec. 31, 2019, and each approached a teller and demanded that they empty their cash drawers. Cunha said Lage was brandishing his knife.

They escaped with a total of $12,000, but were spotted at the Twin River Casino in Lincoln on New Year’s Day and arrested there at 1 a.m. on Jan. 2, East Providence police previously said.

Worley pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of bank robbery and conspiracy to commit bank robbery. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 30, 2025.

Worley made more than $32,000 during an 8-month robbery spree in 2012. He wore theatrical beards, wigs and makeup to conceal his identity, according to investigators who circulated surveillance footage and dubbed him the “Bearded Bandit.”

Lage pleaded guilty on April 1, 2021, to charges of bank robbery and conspiracy to commit bank robbery. He was sentenced to 36 months in prison on Aug. 6, 2021, followed by three years of federal supervised release, Cunha said.