Truck driver sentenced to two years in fake robbery

MOBILE, Ala. — A former armored truck driver admitted he staged a phony robbery with two others in Alabama was sentenced to two years in federal prison Monday.

Jonah Bessard, 26, had pleaded guilty earlier this year to the Jan. 5 scheme, according to WALA-TV. The sentencing judge, U.S. District Judge William Steele, also recommended that Bessard participate in a substance abuse program, the station reported.

His plea agreement says the former Brink’s driver separated bags of large-denomination bills from others. When he made a stop to buy coffee, two accomplices rushed him, threw him to the ground and made off with bags containing close to $500,000.