Coral Gables attorney and serial bank robber Aaron Honaker has been arrested and charged with trying to rob five banks since Sept. 30.
Honaker stole $1,850 total from two of the five bank robbery attempts in Coral Gables and Aventura, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in Miami federal court.
Honaker earned his juris doctor degree from Wake Forest University Law School on Dec. 10, 2005. State records show he was admitted to the Florida Bar on Jan. 31, 2008, and is a member in good standing, according to ABC affiliate Local10 in Miami.
Honaker’s LinkedIn page said he worked at Greenberg Traurig from 2006 to 2011. The firm said Wednesday it was actually 2008 to 2011, Miami Herald reported. Both his LinkedIn and Florida Bar profile say he’s with the Coral Gables-based firm of Martinez Morales but a Wednesday afternoon email to the Miami Herald from partner Raul Morales said Honaker disappeared two years ago and never returned to work.
Colleagues at boutique firms in Coral Gables described Honaker as a “highly intelligent” and “brilliant” attorney who is “disciplined” and “sharp,” Local10 reported.
In several professional online profiles, he described himself as a litigator in “all matters related to corporate and commercial relationships.” His experience includes implementing a plan of reorganization through a $1.6 billion equity infusion transaction with Merrill Lynch, now Bank of America, Local10 reported.
Maybe he should have stuck to that side of the law.
According to the FBI, Honaker left Citibank, 396 Alhambra Circle, Coral Gables, after his Sept. 30 robbery attempt with no money. The criminal complaint says Honaker sat in the lobby for 15 minutes before eventually handing a handwritten note to a teller warning against touching the alarm or calling the police. He asked for $10,000. The teller said she told him she “didn’t have the money; it is in the machine.” Honaker left the bank with only his note.
An Oct. 3 robbery at Chase Bank, 20880 Biscayne Blvd., Aventura, yielded $1,050. The complaint said Honaker told the teller he wanted to make a withdrawal but didn’t have his debit card. However, he said he was handing her a note with instructions on how to help him withdraw cash. The note demanded all the $50- and $100 bills in the teller’s drawer to be put in an envelope. The teller did so and Honaker left.
During an Oct. 5 robbery at Wells Fargo, 2555 Ponce De Leon Blvd., Coral Gables, the complaint says Honaker wore “a floppy hat and a blue, short-sleeved shirt.” His note said, “Keep calm and give me all the money in the drawer. I have a gun.” The teller pretended not to understand English, giving her an excuse to talk with her manager. While she informed her manager that the guy in the floppy hat was trying to rob them, Honaker backed away, appeared to get on his phone, then left.
On Oct. 10 Honaker hit Chase again — this time at 355 Alhambra Circle, Coral Gables. The complaint says Honaker asked for “$50s and $100s” and left with $800.
On Oct. 15, Honaker tried to rob HSBC at 2222 Ponce De Leon Blvd., Coral Gables but his note confused the teller, who “glanced at the note and, without realizing its true meaning, asked (Honaker) to fill out a withdrawal slip first because she needed an account number.” Honaker complied and wrote on the withdrawal slip, “read the note,” which asked for all $100s, $50s and $20s. The teller told Honaker, “The bank kept its cash in counting machines” so she couldn’t give him what he wanted, the complaint said. He left.
Coral Gables police officers arrested Honaker during an attempted bank robbery on Tuesday night, FBI agents said. The Aventura Police Department is involved in the investigation.
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Honaker’s online profiles contained contradictory information that appeared to clash with reality, Miami Herald reported. They seem designed to project a favorable image. For example, both his LinkedIn and Florida Bar online profiles claim he graduated from Duke University School of Law in 2006. His LinkedIn page claimed honors gained while at Duke Law. But an email from Duke University to the Miami Herald said there’s no record that Aaron Honaker ever attended.
Honaker was one of the first attorneys at Salazar Jackson in 2012. The firm is now known as Salazar Law. A Jacksonville Daily Record brief from 2006 announces his and another associate’s hiring at Stutsman, Thames & Markey. Another database said he was at the Brickell law firm Bilzen Sumberg. Other profiles say he worked for Infante Zumpano, a Coral Gables law firm.
Honaker is being represented by the federal public defender’s office. He appeared in federal magistrate court in Miami Wednesday and remains in custody. A bond hearing is scheduled for Friday.
