A 24-year-old Seattle woman has been charged with eight counts of first-degree robbery and one count of attempted first-degree robbery after allegedly carrying out a yearlong series of increasingly brazen bank heists across the city, according to charging documents filed in King County Superior Court.
Prosecutors say Leena Chang targeted banks from Queen Anne to West Seattle between June 2024 and July 2025, using handwritten notes to threaten tellers and sometimes displaying what appeared to be a firearm.
Investigators allege she walked into the banks disguised as a customer, quietly passed threatening messages to employees demanding cash, and often escaped with thousands of dollars.
In at least one case, she reportedly showed a handgun hidden inside a bag. In others, she claimed to be armed.
Chang was arrested on July 7 after police say she committed another robbery just hours earlier at the Washington Federal Bank on California Avenue Southwest.
According to detectives, she was found walking near her University District apartment carrying the same wallet, green bag, and accessories captured in the bank’s surveillance footage.
Officers recovered $1,799 in loose cash, an airsoft pistol that resembled a real firearm, and a note reading: “I have a gun. Give me all the money from your register (except bait$). No tracking device. No silent alarm. Keep it discreet.”
A search of her apartment later uncovered an assortment of evidence, including disguises seen in previous robberies, surveillance-matching sunglasses and shoes, demand notes, and a notebook detailing robbery locations, dates, amounts taken, and demand note drafts.
Investigators also found a painted collage version of her FBI wanted poster, which she allegedly used as a form of self-celebration.
Detectives began linking the robberies in late 2024 due to the similarities in methods, physical description, and timing.
According to a Seattle Police Department report, the suspect was consistently described as an Asian female in her early to mid-20s, about 5’3” to 5’5” tall, who often wore hats, surgical masks, sunglasses, and carried a crossbody bag or purse.
She approached tellers calmly, passed notes demanding money without dye packs or trackers, and typically avoided making verbal threats.
The case began to break in April 2025 when an anonymous tipster contacted Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound and identified Chang as the suspect.
The tipster claimed Chang bragged about the robberies, proudly calling herself a “serial bank robber” and expressing excitement over being the subject of an FBI wanted bulletin.
The tipster also provided her address, noted her disdain for mobile phones (to avoid tracking), and said she listened to police radio recordings of the robberies to relive the moments.
Seattle police began surveillance shortly after the tip and were able to match Chang’s movements with Metro bus surveillance and apartment footage.
On May 12, after a robbery at a US Bank in Magnolia, investigators traced her return trip via Metro Transit footage, showing her boarding in Magnolia minutes after the robbery and arriving back near her apartment less than two hours later — wearing the same clothes and accessories seen in the bank’s surveillance video.
In total, prosecutors say Chang carried out or attempted nine robberies at the following locations:
- Wells Fargo, 1600 Queen Anne Ave N – June 28, 2024
- US Bank, 2746 NE 45th St (inside QFC) – September 7, 2024
- Key Bank, 9735 Holman Rd NW – November 21, 2024
- US Bank, 4200 SW Edmunds St – January 13, 2025
- HomeStreet Bank, 4036 E Madison St – March 18, 2025
- Sound Community Bank (Mountlake Terrace, attempted) – March 14, 2025 (not yet charged)
- WaFd Bank, 4800 Rainier Ave S (attempted) – May 8, 2025
- US Bank, 3124 W McGraw St – May 12, 2025
- WaFd Bank, 4102 California Ave SW – July 7, 2025
In most incidents, Chang took between $385 and $4,180.
In at least two robberies, she reportedly examined the bills before leaving, discarding anything she thought might be traceable.
In one instance, she even returned a currency tracking device to the teller before fleeing.
Prosecutors said her behavior became more confident and frequent in 2025.
At first, she concealed her face with masks and sunglasses, but eventually wore lighter disguises and increased her activity.
“She took immense personal satisfaction from her ability to rob banks and outsmart law enforcement,” Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Brynn Jacobson wrote in a bail request. “The fact that she was a focus of a significant law enforcement investigation appears to have been a source of great pride for her.”
Despite having no prior criminal record, the state has asked the court to set bail at $500,000 and impose electronic home detention if Chang is released.
Prosecutors argue that she remains a flight risk and poses an ongoing threat to public safety, warning that she may continue committing violent offenses if not kept in custody.
Chang is currently being held in King County Jail. Her arraignment is scheduled for July 23.
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