A Franklin Park man who laid a handgun on the counter of a Park Ridge BMO Bank branch and demanded cash in August 2024 will spend 14 years in federal prison for that holdup and five others across the Chicago suburbs.
U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin sentenced German Campos Jr., 26, on Thursday, July 30, after Campos pleaded guilty in March to federal bank robbery and firearm charges, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois.
The U.S. Attorney's Office credited Park Ridge police, along with four other suburban departments, with providing "substantial assistance" in the investigation that ended Campos' 10-month spree, as the Chicago Tribune reported.
The Park Ridge robbery
On Aug. 9, 2024, Campos walked into a BMO branch in Park Ridge carrying an Under Armour backpack. At the teller counter, he removed a black handgun from the bag, placed it on the counter with the barrel pointed at the teller and demanded money, prosecutors said in court filings as CWB Chicago reported. He left with approximately $3,858.
It was the fifth of six robberies Campos committed between Oct. 18, 2023, and Aug. 28, 2024, targeting U.S. Bank branches in Schaumburg, Elmhurst and Niles along with the Park Ridge BMO location. He brandished a firearm in five of the six holdups.
Escalation and arrest
The final robbery, at a U.S. Bank in Niles on Aug. 28, 2024, was the most brazen. Campos pointed a gun at two employees and ordered them into the vault area, where they encountered another employee and a customer. He detained all four people while demanding money, took $16,320 from teller drawers and attempted to lock the four inside the vault before fleeing.
Investigators arrested Campos on Sept. 17, 2024. A search of his apartment turned up a Beretta M9 9-millimeter handgun that prosecutors said was used in the robberies. He has remained in federal custody since.
In total, Campos stole more than $52,000 across the six holdups.
Motive disputed
Campos told investigators he committed the robberies to pay for his daughter's therapy. But a review of his bank records showed the stolen money went to food purchases, shopping expenses and a trip to Las Vegas, according to the federal sentencing memorandum.
"The only reason why defendant stopped his violent robbery spree was because he was finally caught after ten months of terrorizing bank employees and customers," Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie C. Stern wrote in the government's sentencing memorandum.
Campos had no prior criminal record. He pleaded guilty in March 2026.
Local role in the investigation
The FBI led the case, with police departments in Park Ridge, Niles, Schaumburg, Elmhurst and Franklin Park all contributing to the investigation. The Park Ridge Police Department has not released a public statement about the sentencing.
Residents with information about bank crimes can contact the FBI's Chicago field office at 312-421-6700 or Park Ridge police at 847-318-5252.
