A man who helped orchestrate a scheme luring Facebook Marketplace sellers to an apartment complex, only to carjack and rob them at gunpoint, has been sentenced to more than 14 years in federal prison. Cavondre Akens was one of two men accused of using fake marketplace listings to draw dozens of unsuspecting victims into an ambush that included kidnapping and forced ATM withdrawals.
According to FBI Houston
, Akens and co-defendant Anthony Anderson used Facebook Marketplace ads to lure dozens of victims to their apartment complex, where the pair carjacked their targets, kidnapped them, and forced them to withdraw cash at gunpoint from an ATM. Anderson was sentenced separately, receiving six years in federal prison in August 2026 for his role in the same scheme, per the same FBI Houston announcement.
The disparity between the two sentences underscores how federal carjacking law is applied. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2119, carjacking carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison for basic offenses, rising to as much as 25 years if the crime results in serious bodily injury, according to Combs Waterkotte. Federal jurisdiction can apply when the vehicles involved have moved in interstate or foreign commerce, the same source notes.
Federal Reach Across Southeast Texas
Federal Reach Across Southeast Texas The case falls under the authority of the FBI's Houston Field Office, which oversees 40 counties along the Texas Gulf Coast and operates satellite resident agencies in Beaumont, Bryan, Corpus Christi, and Texas City, according to the FBI. The FBI Houston Field Office is identified in the case announcement.
Had Akens and Anderson been prosecuted under Texas state law instead, they could have faced a different sentencing framework entirely. Texas Penal Code Section 29.03 classifies aggravated robbery involving a deadly weapon as a first-degree felony, carrying state prison sentences that range from 5 to 99 years or life, as Hoodline has previously reported.
Part of a Broader Marketplace Crime Pattern
The Akens and Anderson case is one of several recent examples of social media marketplace transactions turning violent across the Houston area. In May 2026, Harris County Sheriff's Office detectives charged four suspects connected to a series of armed robberies targeting sellers listing high-value items, including luxury watches and gaming consoles, on Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp, in a case detailed in Hoodline's coverage at the time.
Other cases have surfaced varied tactics. Other marketplace crimes may involve different tactics. In other social-media transactions, sellers can face risks beyond those described here, showing that even routine consumer sales can escalate into armed encounters in residential neighborhoods.
Safe Exchange Zones Aim to Curb the Risk
In response to the pattern of armed stickups during peer-to-peer exchanges, the Harris County Sheriff's Office piloted a safe meeting location at its District 4 substation on Clay Road, with deputies present during specified hours for residents conducting online sales transactions, according to KHOU.
The City of Pearland Police Department similarly provides a 24/7 video-surveilled Safe Exchange Zone in its public parking lot and building lobby for internet-based buyer and seller transactions, per the City of Pearland. The University of Houston Police Department provides a 24-hour publicly accessible lobby with camera coverage, per the same source. Separately, an armed robbery involving a phone occurred near the University of Houston.
Unmonitored meetups at private residences and apartment complexes, like the one Akens and Anderson allegedly used to trap their victims, remain a significant vulnerability for anyone selling items online. Authorities across the Houston region continue to point sellers toward monitored public locations as the safer alternative to arranging exchanges at home.
