New Bedford Serial Bank Robber Sentenced to Prison

BOSTON (WBSM) — A New Bedford man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for the July 2021 robbery of $20,000 from a Bristol County Savings Bank branch in Dartmouth.

David A. Frates, 44, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 77 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $20,000 to the Bristol County Savings Bank for the robbery.

On July 19, 2021, Frates robbed $20,000 from a Bristol County Savings Bank in Dartmouth. Frates allegedly demanded the cash from the teller and then exited the bank, which later led to his arrest on July 21, 2021, after investigations.

Upon his arrest, police said Frates was also in possession of $9,000. He remained in custody since that time and pleaded guilty in March 2022.

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At the time of the robbery, Frates was allegedly on supervised release for a 2015 federal bank robbery conviction at a St. Anne’s Credit Union branch in New Bedford.

Both of these charges sentenced Frates to 11 years in prison, and in May 2020, that sentence was reduced to 81 months.

Due to Frates committing the 2021 offense on a federal supervised release for his previous conviction, he is to serve an additional 33 months consecutive to the 77 months.