Frederick Wright, a 34-year-old Hartford resident, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison and four years of supervised release for a series of armed robberies connected to online vehicle sales. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford.
According to court documents and statements made during the proceedings, Wright orchestrated a scheme on Facebook Marketplace where he advertised vehicles for sale. After arranging meetings with potential buyers, he allowed them to test drive the vehicle and negotiated a price. Once cash was exchanged, Wright would display a firearm, threaten his victims, and steal their money along with other valuables. Between July 2020 and November 2020, at least five individuals were robbed in Windsor and Bloomfield as part of this operation.
Wright was apprehended on November 24, 2020. During a search of his residence authorized by the court, investigators found a loaded 9mm semiautomatic pistol used in the robberies.
His criminal record includes previous state felony convictions for attempted robbery in the first degree and failure to appear. At the time of these new offenses in 2020, Wright was already on state special parole.
Wright has remained detained since his arrest. On February 1, 2022, 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.
Judge Shea also ordered Wright to pay $14,429 in restitution to his victims.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Hartford Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Konstantin Lantsman prosecuted it.
U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan offered advice for those conducting transactions arranged online: "Contact your local police department to see if it offers a monitored meeting location, or search online for a nearby monitored location."
