Hartford Man Sentenced For Facebook Marketplace Robberies

HARTFORD — A Hartford man who robbed multiple victims after advertising vehicles for sale on Facebook Marketplace was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in federal prison, authorities said.

Frederick Wright, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 180 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, according to U.S. Attorney for Connecticut David X. Sullivan.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Wright carried out a robbery scheme between July and November 2020 in which he posted vehicles for sale on Facebook Marketplace and arranged to meet potential buyers.

After allowing the buyer to test drive the vehicle and negotiating a price, Wright would take cash from the victim and then brandish a firearm, threaten to shoot, and steal the money and, at times, other valuables, Sullivan said.

Prosecutors said Wright and others robbed at least five victims in Windsor and Bloomfield during the scheme.

Wright was arrested on Nov. 24, 2020.

That same day, investigators executed a court-authorized search of his Hartford residence and seized a loaded 9mm semiautomatic pistol that authorities said was used during the robberies.

His criminal history includes state felony convictions for attempted robbery in the first degree and failure to appear.

He was on state special parole at the time of the 2020 robberies.

Wright has been detained since his arrest on Feb. 1, 2022, and he pleaded guilty to three counts of obstruction of interstate commerce by robbery, two counts of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

Shea also ordered Wright to pay $14,429 in restitution to the victims.

The case was investigated by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Hartford Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Konstantin Lantsman.

Sullivan encouraged people who buy or sell items online and meet in person to complete transactions to use visible, monitored locations.

He advised residents to contact their local police department to see if it offers a monitored meeting site or to search online for nearby monitored locations.

For information on the case, click on this link.