‘A Miserable Living Hell': Crooks Lift $1K in Disability Cash From Customer at Bank

When Mike Juhasz walked into the Bank of America on East 95th Street to do his monthly business, he never imagined he’d walk out a victim.

"They were watching me," he told NBC 5 on Friday. "They were scoping me out."

He said he noticed a man standing nearby as a teller handed over his $1,000 withdrawal.

"I saw and I thought, that’s suspicious, what’s he doing standing there," Juhasz recalled. "He was talking on the cell phone but he wasn’t talking to anybody."

But after Juhasz finished his transaction and headed for the door he said the man approached him with a plan to distract the 58-year-old.

“All the sudden he said oh there is a spider on your leg,” Juhasz said. "While he’s patting my leg down there is a guy going in my back pocket taking my wallet and I didn’t feel it til I walked out of the bank."

Juhasz says he the pair disappeared before he realized his wallet was gone. He immediately ran back inside the bank and a manager called police.

"I would never in my wildest dreams think something like this would happen to me," Juhasz said. "My whole life is miserable right now."

Police say his story checks out but they have no sign of the suspects.

Juhasz lives off his $1,000 dollar disability check every month and has no way to make up the money.

“Everything is going to get shut off," he said. "I may get thrown out. It makes your life miserable. A miserable living hell."

Bank of America told him it cannot reimburse him even though the robbery happened on bank property.

A spokesperson confirmed the company is working closely with police to solve the crime and is encouraging customers to be extra vigilant.

Now Juhasz is hoping security video will give police a better idea of who to look for so no one else will walk out of the bank worse off than when they walked in.

"It makes your life unbelievable," he told NBC 5. "I don’t have any of my bills paid. I don’t have my rent paid or anything."

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