Todd Berkley, 40, of Clarkson, Ky., faces four counts of bank robbery and one count of attempted bank robbery, according to a statement from the FBI.
Berkley robbed at least four area banks in October 2012, the indictment alleges.
The FBI suspects Berkley robbed a TCF branch at 4734 N. Cumberland on Oct. 13; a Charter One Bank branch at 4411 N. Cumberland Ave. in Norridge, on Oct. 15; a TCF branch at 7122 W. 40th St. in Stickney on Oct. 24; and a TCF branch at 7342 W. Foster on Oct. 24.
He was also charged with the attempted robbery of a TCF branch at 819 S. Elmhurst Rd. in Des Plaines on Oct. 14, the statement said.
Berkley was arrested in Kentucky in November 2012 and charged with robbing a U.S. Bank branch in Louisville on Nov. 1, prosecutors said. He remains in federal custody in Kentucky on that charge and no local court date has been scheduled.
He faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for each of the charges, according to the FBI.
FBI agents responded to the fifth bank robbery at the TCF Bank branch at 7342 West Foster in Chicago about 1:25 p.m., after a man approached a teller and presented a note demanding cash. After receiving an undisclosed amount of money from the teller, the robber fled on foot. He did not present a weapon, and no injuries were reported.
On all of the occasions, the robber wore a plaid flannel shirt, and in his most recent robberies, he wore a ballcap, which led agents to refer to him as the "Elmer Fudd Bandit."
Witnesses described the robber as being 40-50 years old, 5'6"-5'7" with blonde hair and a balding hairline.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
