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One Orange County mother, who identified herself as "Sherry," was one of the slickest bank robbers around before she was caught and she never had to use guns or masks. (KTLA-TV) |
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (KTLA) -- It was an intricate scheme that scored one woman millions of dollars before authorities finally caught up with her.
After plummeting for the last decade, bank robberies have have steadily increased in frequency in Southern California, especially during tough economic times. But with enhanced security and surveillance how do these brazen bandits manage to get away with it?
One Orange County mother, who identified herself as "Sherry," was one of the slickest bank robbers around before she was caught and she never had to use guns or masks.
Sherry was a crafty crook leading a double life and she says she was getting rich from her con-artist scams.
"I was able to pull about ($170,000) every two hours," Sherry told KTLA's Micah Ohlman in an exclusive interview.
Sherry started her career in crime at a young age. She said a larcenous act when she was 5-years-old helped shape her into a relentless bank robber.
"The memory that I have when I was 5, I picked the locks off mailboxes in an apartment complex and I was able to take the mail," Sherry said. "What I actually wanted at that time was a little trial bar of soap. I wanted to take that out of there so I shoved all that mail behind my dresser and I kept the soap."
Later, but not much later, Sherry became addicted to drugs, which only further fueled her lust for crime.
"My addiction started when I was very young," she said. "Meth when I was 11. My behavior just became more and more criminal."
At some point, Sherry realized she didn't need to earn money. Instead, she figured out how to manufacture it herself.
She said making money isn't difficult if you have the right kind of paper.
"You could get the paper at Kinko's," Sherry said. "Any local UPS store, pretty simple."
Using scanners and modern computers, Sherry was able to scan and print her own bills. She said knowing how to mix the ink is the only tricky part.
After printing the bills, Sherry wound crumble them and crinkle them up to give them the texture of genuine currency.
Making smaller bills was easiest. Once the bills were ready, Sherry would spend hundreds of them at local malls, where young and inexperienced retail workers wouldn't know the difference between the phony bills and the real thing.
"The young people, they're just really excited to get the sale," Sherry said. "And take the sale, not even check the money."
With the fake funds in rotation, the heist was on, Sherry said.
But she couldn't do alone. Sherry quickly found the important players she needed to round out her team of scam artists.
First up was the inside man -- or woman, actually. She a dirty employee of a major U.S. bank selling private information to the highest bidder.
After plummeting for the last decade, bank robberies have have steadily increased in frequency in Southern California, especially during tough economic times. But with enhanced security and surveillance how do these brazen bandits manage to get away with it?
One Orange County mother, who identified herself as "Sherry," was one of the slickest bank robbers around before she was caught and she never had to use guns or masks.
Sherry was a crafty crook leading a double life and she says she was getting rich from her con-artist scams.
"I was able to pull about ($170,000) every two hours," Sherry told KTLA's Micah Ohlman in an exclusive interview.
Sherry started her career in crime at a young age. She said a larcenous act when she was 5-years-old helped shape her into a relentless bank robber.
"The memory that I have when I was 5, I picked the locks off mailboxes in an apartment complex and I was able to take the mail," Sherry said. "What I actually wanted at that time was a little trial bar of soap. I wanted to take that out of there so I shoved all that mail behind my dresser and I kept the soap."
Later, but not much later, Sherry became addicted to drugs, which only further fueled her lust for crime.
"My addiction started when I was very young," she said. "Meth when I was 11. My behavior just became more and more criminal."
At some point, Sherry realized she didn't need to earn money. Instead, she figured out how to manufacture it herself.
She said making money isn't difficult if you have the right kind of paper.
"You could get the paper at Kinko's," Sherry said. "Any local UPS store, pretty simple."
Using scanners and modern computers, Sherry was able to scan and print her own bills. She said knowing how to mix the ink is the only tricky part.
After printing the bills, Sherry wound crumble them and crinkle them up to give them the texture of genuine currency.
Making smaller bills was easiest. Once the bills were ready, Sherry would spend hundreds of them at local malls, where young and inexperienced retail workers wouldn't know the difference between the phony bills and the real thing.
"The young people, they're just really excited to get the sale," Sherry said. "And take the sale, not even check the money."
With the fake funds in rotation, the heist was on, Sherry said.
But she couldn't do alone. Sherry quickly found the important players she needed to round out her team of scam artists.
First up was the inside man -- or woman, actually. She a dirty employee of a major U.S. bank selling private information to the highest bidder.
