A man accused of stealing thousands of dollars from St. Paul bank branches in the last two months told investigators he did so because of a gambling addiction.

Eli Sebastian Hill, 45, was charged Friday with four counts of felony-level theft, according to the criminal complaint filed against him in Ramsey County District Court.

In each instance, Hill donned a ski mask, sunglasses and gloves, walked into a St. Paul bank and handed over a note to the teller instructing the employee to hand over all available cash, authorities say.

One of the notes read: “This is a robbery, cash, 90 seconds.”

Another read, “We are watching you. Do not panic or set off the alarm. Hand over the 100s, 50s, 20s and 10s,” according to the complaint.

The thefts took place between March 11 and April 22 at TCF Bank on Ford Parkway, US Bank on Cleveland Avenue and twice at BMO Harris Bank on Snelling.

He made off with more than $10,000 from the four locations in total, the complaint said.

Police arrested Hill Wednesday after officers tracked vehicles involved in the thefts to him, according to the charges.

He admitted to stealing from the four St. Paul bank locations, as well as one in Stillwater, adding that he never threatened anyone or displayed a weapon, the complaint said.

He went on to say that a gambling addiction caused his “downfall,” costing him jobs, his marriage and creating “major financial problems” in his life, according to the charges.

The case comes less than a year after Hill was sentenced on a theft by swindle conviction for embezzling more than $150,000 from his former employer, HealthEast, authorities say. He received 10 years of probation in that case.

He also has a separate theft by swindle case pending against him in Hennepin County. In that instance, Hill is accused of stealing nearly $20,000 from Allina Clinics. He’s yet to enter a plea.

He is expected to make his first court appearance on the theft charges Monday.