Trina A. Higgins, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah
A Utah man, Robert Buckley Hardy, 47, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Salt Lake City on charges related to the robbery of two banks in Salt Lake County. Hardy was initially charged by complaint on February 7, 2025, and subsequently taken into custody.
Court documents indicate that Hardy entered a Chase Bank in Cottonwood Heights on January 30, 2025. During this incident, he allegedly questioned the bank teller about appointment requirements before handing over a manila envelope containing several documents. These documents reportedly referenced various United States and government actions related to money laundering, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and corruption. One document purportedly included the statement: “assume that this is an active bomb threat.” Another document stated: “I need $2001 for it to be considered a felony and get the un-kompromised FBI bank robbery division to respond.”
The documents further allege that Hardy conducted another robbery at a Chase Bank in Salt Lake City on February 6, 2025. On this occasion, he is accused of informing the teller of the robbery while providing several manila envelopes with documents inside. The note accompanying these documents read: “poor people steal because they are hungry. Rich people steal because they are greedy.” It also instructed: “please stuff at least $2001 into the bag for me. And make certain the FBI gets this.” The teller complied with his demand.
Hardy was identified through surveillance footage and his Utah Driver's License photo and was apprehended without incident.
Charged with bank robbery, Hardy's initial court appearance is scheduled for February 21, 2025, at 11:45 a.m., before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.
The FBI Salt Lake City Field Office is conducting the investigation. Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti of the District of Utah announced these proceedings.
Assistant United States Attorney Carlos A. Esqueda from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah will prosecute the case.
This case falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which aims to reduce gun violence and other violent crime by bringing together all levels of law enforcement and communities to enhance neighborhood safety. The Department launched an updated violent crime reduction strategy under PSN on May 26, 2021.
An indictment serves merely as an allegation; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
