Woodstock man gets almost 6 years for robbing banks, payday loan store

A Woodstock man was sentenced to almost six years in prison Monday for robbing three banks and a payday loan store.

Shawn M. Rank, 48, was sentenced to 70 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, by U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Kapala.

Rank pleaded guilty in March to the 2016 robberies of the Heartland Bank and Trust Co. in Genoa, the Cash Store in Belvidere, the Harvard Savings Bank in Harvard and the Alpine Bank in Belvidere.

He was also ordered to pay restitution of $6,972.

Rank robbed Heartland Bank on Jan. 15, 2016, showing a teller that he had a gun tucked in the waistband of his pants.

He robbed the Cash Store on April 1, 2016; Harvard Savings on May 6, 2016, again showing a gun; and Alpine Bank on June 13, 2016.

Rank said the gun used was a BB gun, which under federal sentencing guidelines is classified as a "dangerous weapon" instead of a firearm, according to a sentencing document filed by prosecutors.

The prosecution also noted that Rank has convictions for credit card fraud, deceptive practices and forgery.

Assistant Federal Defender Jill Tranel wrote that Rank was apologetic about scaring the bank tellers and Cash Store employee and that he is addicted to alcohol, drugs and gambling. The year spent awaiting trial was the longest sober period of Rank's adult life, and no gun, BB or otherwise, was found in his home, she wrote.

The FBI investigated the crimes, with the aid of the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office and the Harvard, Genoa and Belvidere police departments, according to a news release from the office of the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.