Bank Robber Who Lied About Son's Cancer Gets Prison

WARMINSTER, PA — A Philadelphia man who robbed a Warminster bank while lying about having a son with cancer will spend up to eight years in prison for the crime.

Arif Burroughs, 39, was sentenced Tuesday to 4-8 years behind bars, followed by two years of probation for the Aug. 31, 2018 robbery of the Penn Community Bank, on Louis Drive in Warminster.

Burroughs pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of robbery, theft, carrying a concealed firearm without a license and other crimes. He admitted he had a .45-caliber handgun in his pocket when he walked into the bank and demanded cash from a teller.

Burroughs was dressed in a hazmat suit, a hard hat, boots and sunglasses during the armed robbery.

He told the teller three times that he had a gun and said he needed money because his son was being treated for cancer. Prosecutors say the teller responded by asking his son's name and saying she would pray for him.

Investigators would learn that Burroughs' claims about his son's health were false, prosecutors said.

After the teller gave him money, Burroughs said it wasn't enough and hopped over the counter to follow the woman to a safe. He left the bank with $24,968.

Warminster Township Police found Burroughs almost immediately after the morning robbery. Before they were even notified of the robbery, officers found him peaking suspiciously around the corner of a business near the bank with large amounts of cash on and near him.

They were able to recover all but $1 of the stolen money.

"Thanks to the swift and thorough response of Warminster Township Police, this incident was brought to a quick and decisive end," said Deputy District Attorney Chelsey D. Jackman. "I also must commend the victim in this case, who offered prayers and sympathy while being threatened with a gun. Her grace under pressure was simply astonishing."

In addition to his prison term and probation afterward, Judge Wallace H. Bateman Jr. also imposed a seven-year term of concurrent probation, warning that any probation violations during Burroughs' incarceration can result in additional sanctions.