Chase Bank robber spills on Instagram

Chase Bank robber spills on Instagram|Chase Bank robber spills on Instagram
Photo courtesy of Instagram|Photo courtesy of Instagram

While 2017 is less than a month old, a Florida man is making an early run at the title of dumbest criminal of the year.

Some people will share anything on social media… their breakfast, their cat, their children.

But the spoils of a robbery spree?

That’s what Paul Lubin, 31, of Florida, did before he robbed the Chase bank at 3528 E. Tremont Avenue on Wednesday, January 4 at 1:24 p.m.

He made off with more than $7,000 after slipping a note to a teller.

Lubin had already hit six other Chase banks in Queens over the past three months starting Friday, September 30, including branches in Kew Gardens, Jamaica and Bayside and Glendale.

The brazen thief had absconded with almost $25,000, according to police.

Lubin handed bank tellers at each bank he robbed a note that contained essentially the same message:

“DO NOT DO anything stupid. Put $5,000 in an envelope. DO NOT PISS ME OFF! Everyone’s safety depends all on you!”

Notes given to bank clerks on December 14 and 27 used similar wording.The underlining of certain words for emphasis further helped the FBI narrow down the cases to single suspect.

Lubin’s fingerprints were lifted from the note written on a bank deposit slip, and were quickly matched with Lubin in the law enforcement database.

Lubin was apprehended by United States Marshals just days after an affidavit calling for an arrest warrant was filed Thursday, December 29 in the Eastern District of New York United States District Court.

That affidavit was sealed by the court to prevent Lubin from being able to check online if a warrant was issued, a practice the agent who authored the report said was increasingly common.

FBI agents were able to track Lubin down partly thanks to photos he shared to the social media photo sharing app Instagram.

A photo of Lubin wearing the same striped hooded sweatshirt seen in bank surveillance video footage was posted on the site last week under the name Paullubin11 on Tuesday, December 13, which also showed a large stack of cash.

Lubin then commented on the picture, “#Thuumbinthru.”

Lubin’s Instagram account was apparently fairly popular – the photo of his ill-gotten cash received 28 likes from other users.

“You’re such an idiot, hahaha,” commented one Instagram user, operating under the username ‘Vladiruss.’

He’d probably be hard pressed to find anyone who disagreed.

Reach Reporter Arthur Cusano at (718) 742–4584. E-mail him at acusano@cnglocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @arthurcusano.
A selfie photo taken by Paul Lubin shows him wearing the striped shirt the FBI said he also used to rob banks in the Bronx and Queens.
Photo courtesy of Instagram