KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Two men have been indicted in connection with three armed bank extortions in East Tennessee this year.
The FBI in Knoxville said Wednesday that 43-year-old Michael Anthony Benanti of Lake Harmony, Pa., and 45-year-old Brian Scott Witham of Waterville, Maine, were charged in incidents at Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge on April 28, SmartBank in Knoxville on July 7 and Northeast Community Credit Union in Elizabethton on Oct. 21.
They were arrested in Buncombe County, North Carolina, on Nov. 25 and subsequently indicted in the Eastern District of Tennessee.
The indictment charges each of them with 15 counts, including armed bank extortion, attempted armed bank extortion, carjacking and weapons charges.
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