A Franklin Park man who terrorized bank employees and customers across four Chicago suburbs has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after a 10-month robbery spree. Prosecutors said German Campos Jr. displayed a gun during five of the six holdups.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, Campos, 26, pleaded guilty in March to federal bank robbery and firearm charges. U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin imposed the 14-year sentence, which prosecutors announced Monday, and Campos has remained in custody since his September 2024 arrest.
The robberies unfolded between October 2023 and August 2024, with two U.S. Bank branches hit in Schaumburg, two more in Elmhurst, a BMO Bank in Park Ridge and a U.S. Bank in Niles. The locations and dates were detailed in the federal case summary and recounted by FOX 32 Chicago.
Six Robberies Spread Across Four Suburbs
The first alleged robbery took place at a Schaumburg U.S. Bank on Oct. 18, 2023, followed by an Elmhurst robbery on Dec. 16. Campos allegedly returned to Schaumburg on March 6, 2024, and Elmhurst on June 13 before the final two robberies in Park Ridge on Aug. 9 and Niles on Aug. 28.
Earlier reporting by the Daily Herald described how tellers in two of the cases reported being confronted with a handgun. Nearly $5,000 was taken from the Elmhurst branch, while the Niles robbery netted more than $16,000 after employees were forced to remove money from their cash drawers.
Prosecutors Pointed To Repeated Gun Threats
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie C. Stern argued that Campos repeatedly endangered bank workers, customers and the public by pointing the weapon at victims during the robberies. The federal sentencing memorandum described the gun use as a “significant threat,” while prosecutors said the spree ended only after Campos was arrested.
The case involved a coordinated investigation by the FBI and police departments in Schaumburg, Elmhurst, Park Ridge, Niles and Franklin Park, according to the federal prosecutor’s office. For employees and customers who encountered the robberies firsthand, the sentence closes one chapter of a case that linked six routine banking stops to the same armed suspect.
