Joshua Francisco Miranda, Bank Robbery, MD 2016

Two banks. Six days. One wire, one lie, and a note threatening detonation. Joshua Francisco Miranda, 29, of Waldorf, Maryland, stood in federal court and admitted he pulled off twin bank heists in March 2016—each armed with nothing but a note claiming he had a bomb and a wire snaking from his sleeve to sell the threat.

On March 23, 2016, Miranda walked into a bank in Accokeek and handed a teller a demand note for $5,000, warning he would detonate an explosive device if not obeyed. Less than a week later, on March 29, he repeated the act at a Fort Washington branch, using the same script, the same threat, and the same staged wire rigged to his shirt. Surveillance footage captured the chilling details—calm movements, clenched jaw, the wire dangling like a fuse waiting to burn.

No bombs were real. But the fear was. Miranda walked away with $7,800 in total from both locations. The FBI and Prince George’s County Police Department launched a rapid investigation, linking Miranda through video evidence, witness accounts, and forensic analysis of the notes and his behavior patterns at both scenes.

In his plea agreement, Miranda admitted to the orchestrated deception at both banks. He acknowledged the psychological weapon he wielded—the terror of a bomb threat—despite carrying no actual explosive. The court has ordered him to pay full restitution of $7,800 to the victim banks.

Under the terms of the plea deal, Miranda and prosecutors agree on a sentence of seven to eight years in federal prison, pending approval by U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang. Sentencing is scheduled for March 14, 2017, at 9:30 a.m. in Greenbelt, Maryland.

“These were not impulsive acts—they were planned, rehearsed, and designed to instill fear,” said United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein, who credited the FBI and Prince George’s County Police Department for their swift, coordinated work. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas M. Sullivan is prosecuting the case, underscoring the federal crackdown on violent financial crimes that endanger public safety.