By CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA | Reporter
A former lottery winner, accused of stealing $3,700 from Union Bank in The Village last year, has plead guilty to four bank robberies.
James Allen Hayes, 55, won a SuperLotto jackpot worth $19 million dollars in 1998, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“I’m not going to blow the money,” Hayes pledged at the time. “I know I’ll change. But only for the better … Mainly what I want to do is help out my family and friends in need.” And, he added, maybe take a trip to Hawaii.
Hayes, who was working as a residential security guard in Ventura County until his near-record win, was said to have accepted the prize money in $684,000 installments over 20 years.
Two decades later, the money had gone and Hayes turned to crime.
The Camarillo man dubbed the “Seasoned Bandit” by the FBI has, according to documents submitted by the agency to court on March 5, admitted to four out of 11 bank robberies—one of which took place on Sunset Boulevard in the Palisades in September 2017.
Over the course of six months, Hayes stole close to $40,000, all of which was insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
He handed over notes to bank tellers informing them he had a gun.
“I have a gun. Give me $6,000. Don’t pull any alarms or don’t call anyone,” said the note from Hayes to Union Bank teller on Sunset Boulevard, according to court documents.
He was reported on multiple occasions as fleeing the scene in a golden PT Cruiser: He was captured on camera more than once.
Although the remaining seven charges of bank robbery against Hayes were dismissed, the U.S. district court will take them into consideration when determining a sentence.
The plea agreement Hayes has signed required his agreement that each violation could, at a future sentencing, result in up to 20 years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine per offense.
Hayes returns to district court in downtown Los Angeles on March 15.
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