Security

San Francisco chef allegedly robs 3 bank branches due to financial struggles

Photo: Adobe Stock

September 19, 2025

Valentino Luchin, 62, a chef from San Francisco, is accused of robbing three bank branches in one day.

In each case, an individual approached the teller and gave a note demanding cash, according to a NBC News report.

Luchin has held a variety of chef roles, including at Rose Pistola, and once owned his own Italian restaurant that closed in 2016. In 2018, he was arrested after allegedly attempting to rob a Citibank in Contra Costa County. He admitted to using a BB gun in that incident.

He told police in the 2018 incident that he had been "struggling a lot financially." He also later told East Bay Times that, "My action wasn't aggressive. It was a fake gun. I don't even know how to load a real gun."

Kwixunan Maloof, a San Francisco County public defender, is representing Luchin in the latest criminal allegation and called Luchin, a "talented chef and a king person who recently found himself in a desperate financial situation," according to the news report.

"The restaurant industry, as many are aware, has been especially difficult in recent years. The charges against him are totally overblown, and the government is trying to stretch the law to fit facts that simply are not there," Maloof told the news outlet.