Siblings charged with bank robbery; authorities say it was an inside job

SAN FRANCISCO » Two siblings were indicted this week on charges that they teamed up to commit an inside job bank robbery that yielded more than $20,000 in cash, according to court records.

Michael Shiferaw, 28, and his sister Meron Shiferaw were charged with robbing the Citibank at 2198 Chestnut St., where Meron Shiferaw worked as a teller.

According to the complaint, Michael Shiferaw needed the money because he was four months behind on his rent at a San Francisco apartment.

The complaint alleges that on Nov. 23, Michael Shiferaw entered the Citibank and passed a note typed on his smartphone to Meron Shiferaw, the teller, demanding money. She handed him roughly $21,000 and he fled the area.

Authorities were immediately suspicious.

“It is extremely rare for a victim teller to store such a large amount of cash in one teller drawer, and for them to retrieve and provide it immediately to a robber following a demand note robbery,” FBI special agent Jeffrey Kim wrote in the complaint. He later added, “In my experience, it is extremely rare for a bank robber to obtain such a large amount of money without escalating to additional threats or violence.”

Later, authorities found surveillance footage near Michael Shiferaw’s home showing him in a similar outfit as the robber, and they discovered he was Meron Shiferaw’s brother.

Both defendants have pleaded not guilty and remain in federal custody.