Federal Charges for Selling a Gun Used in a Crime

The ATF traced 654,064 firearms in 2023. Every single one of those traces started the same way: a gun was recovered at a crime scene, and investigators worked backwards to find the original purchaser. Not the current owner. Not the person who pulled the trigger. The original purchaser - the person whose name appears on the Form 4473 from the initial retail sale. If you ever sold a gun privately - at a yard sale, to a friend, to a stranger who answered your online ad - and that gun later turns up at a crime scene, you are the first person investigators contact.

Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our goal is to explain how federal gun tracing actually works, and what it means for anyone who has ever sold a firearm. Todd Spodek has represented clients who received that terrifying phone call years after selling a gun legally - clients who had nothing to do with any crime, but whose names appeared in ATF traces simply because they were the original purchasers. The system is designed to work this way. Understanding it is the first step toward protecting yourself.

Here's what most people don't realize: the ATF successfully traces about 80% of recovered crime guns back to the original retail purchaser. That means four out of five guns recovered at crime scenes can be linked back to someone who bought them legally from a dealer. The trace doesn't care what happened to the gun after that purchase. It doesn't care that you sold it ten years ago. It just identifies you as the starting point for the investigation - and from there, prosecutors decide whether to dig deeper into your sale.

The Trace Always Starts With You

Every firearm recovered at a crime scene gets traced through the National Tracing Center. This isnt optional. Law enforcement submits the gun's serial number, and ATF works backwards through the chain: manufacturer to distributor to dealer to the first retail purchaser. Thats you. Thats were the paper trail ends and the questioning begins.

Heres the part that catches people off guard. The trace dosent identify the criminal. It identifies YOU. The person who committed the crime with the gun probably bought it from someone who bought it from someone who bought it from you. But the trace only goes to the first retail purchaser, becuase thats were the federal paperwork exists. Everything after that - private sales, trades, gifts - leaves no paper trail. So you become the starting point for every investigation, even if you had nothing to do with the crime.

When ATF contacts you about a traced firearm, they want to know what happened to the gun after you bought it. Who did you sell it to? When? For how much? Do you have any documentation? These questions seem innocent. But your answers become evidence. If you sold to someone prohibited. If you sold for profit repeatedly. If you cant explain were the gun went. Each answer creates or eliminates potential charges.

This is why having counsel before you talk to investigators is absolutly critical. Once you make statements to ATF, you cant take them back. And anything you say - even things you think are helpful - can be used to build a case against you.

What Makes a Private Sale Federal Crime

Selling a gun privately is legal in most situations. But the line between legal private sale and federal crime is thinner then most people realize, and crossing it dosent require any criminal intent at all. There are multiple ways a private sale becomes a federal offense.

Selling to a prohibited person. Under 18 USC 922(d), its illegal to sell or transfer a firearm to anyone you know or have "reasonable cause to believe" is prohibited from possessing firearms. You dont have to know for certain the buyer is a felon, drug user, or someone under indictment. If circumstances would have given a reasonable person cause to believe the buyer was prohibited, thats enough for prosecution. Did they mention being on probation? Did they say they couldnt buy from a dealer? Did they offer to pay way over market value with no questions? Each of these facts creates "reasonable cause to believe."

Unlicensed dealing. This is were people get tripped up. Federal law requires anyone "engaged in the business" of dealing firearms to have a license. Before 2022, prosecutors had to prove gun dealing was your livelihood - hard to prove against someone with a regular job. But the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act changed that. Now prosecutors only have to prove profit was your "predominant" reason for selling. Thats much easier.

Heres the kicker: there is no specific number of guns that makes you a dealer. One gun, if you bought it intending to resell for profit, makes you an unlicensed dealer under federal law. The number dosent matter. The intent matters. Did you buy it knowing youd flip it? Did you buy multiple guns of the same model? Did you sell guns still in original packaging - never fired, just resold? Each of these facts is evidence of dealing intent.

Time-to-crime. If you sell a gun and its recovered at a crime scene within 90 days to 3 years, prosecutors will argue the short "time-to-crime" proves you knew or should have known what was happening. The median time-to-crime has dropped 31% - from 4.2 years in 2017 to 2.9 years in 2023. Almost half of all traced crime guns - 46% - were purchased within three years of being used in a crime. Twenty-five percent were purchased within the past year. Short time-to-crime is treated as circumstantial evidence of trafficking, even without direct proof you knew anything.

How Investigations Actually Work

An ATF investigation dosent start with you. It starts with a crime - a shooting, a robbery, a drug bust were guns are recovered. Local law enforcement submits the guns for tracing. ATF identifies you as the original purchaser. Then investigators decide wheather to dig deeper based on what the trace reveals.

Heres what triggers escalation. If only one gun you purchased turns up, and it was years ago, you might just get a phone call. But if multiple guns you purchased appear in traces - especially from different crime scenes - you become a "multiple purchaser of crime guns" and move to the top of the investigation list. If the time-to-crime is short, same thing. If the crime involving your gun was particularaly serious - a homicide, a mass shooting - same thing.

At Spodek Law Group, weve seen investigations that started with a routine trace become full-scale federal prosecutions. The pattern is always the same: investigators ask questions, the answers create more questions, and suddenly what seemed like routine cooperation becomes building a case against you. Thats why we tell clients: never talk to ATF without counsel present. Even if you did nothing wrong. Especialy if you did nothing wrong.

The evidence ATF looks for includes quick turnovers (bought a gun in January, sold it in February), multiple guns of the same model, guns still in original packaging, advertising before you buy, and repetitive presence at gun shows. Each of these facts is circumstantial evidence of dealing. Stack enough together and your "hobby" becomes a federal crime.

The Penalties Are Devastating

If your convicted of firearms trafficking or unlicensed dealing, the penalties are severe. And if the gun you sold was later used in a violent crime, they get much worse.

Unlicensed dealing: Up to 5 years in federal prison per count, plus fines up to $250,000. Thats per sale. If your charged with multiple unlicensed sales, penalties stack. Plus civil asset forfeiture takes any guns and proceeds. And conviction means lifetime prohibition from possessing firearms.

Straw purchase (18 USC 932): The new statute from 2022 carries up to 15 years. If the goverment can prove you knew or should have known the firearm would be used in a violent crime, terrorism, or drug trafficking, the maximum jumps to 25 years.

Selling to prohibited person: Up to 10 years per violation under 18 USC 922(d).

Crime gun linkage enhancement: If any firearm you sold is later recovered at a crime scene - even if you had no idea it would be used in a crime - that can dramaticaly increase your sentence. Crime gun linkage can effectivly double your sentence under the sentencing guidelines.

These arent theoretical maximums that judges never impose. Weve seen sentences in the 5-15 year range for people who genuinly didnt think they were doing anything wrong. The law dosent care wheather you thought you were just selling guns to hobbyists. If the evidence shows dealing intent or knowledge of prohibited status, your facing years in federal prison.

The Time-To-Crime Problem

Lets talk about why "time-to-crime" is so dangerous. ATF investigative experience indicates that time-to-crime of less then three years is an indicator of illegal firearm trafficking. That dosent mean it proves trafficking. But it creates an inference that shifts the burden to you to explain why the gun moved from legal purchase to crime scene so quickly.

Think about what that means. You sell a gun at a gun show to someone you've never met. They seem normal. They pay cash. Two years later, that gun is recovered at a drug bust. The time-to-crime is under three years, which ATF treats as an indicator of trafficking. Now your explaining why you sold that gun, who you sold it to, and why you didnt suspect anything was wrong. Your innocent transaction becomes evidence in a trafficking investigation.

The numbers are alarming. 46% of all traced crime guns were purchased within three years of being used in a crime. Almost half. If youve sold multiple guns over the years, the odds that at least one of them ends up in a trace within three years are significant. And each trace creates another data point. Pattern emerges. Investigation escalates.

This is the system working as designed. Congress wanted to catch people who funnel guns to criminals. But the mechanism they created - using time-to-crime as an inference of trafficking - catches people who had no idea the guns they sold would be misused. Your stuck explaining a transaction you barely remember to investigators who already think short time-to-crime proves something was wrong.

The 2022 Law Change Made Everything Worse

Before 2022, prosecutors had to prove that firearms dealing was your "livelihood" to convict you of unlicensed dealing. That was hard. If you had a regular job and sold guns on the side, prosecutors struggled to prove dealing was how you made your living.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act changed that. Now prosecutors only have to prove that profit was your "predominant" reason for selling. Thats a much lower bar. You dont have to depend on gun sales for income. You dont have to make significant money. If the evidence shows you bought guns with resale in mind - even occassionaly, even as a side hobby - your potentialy an unlicensed dealer.

This change transformed casual gun selling into federal crime territory.

Before 2022, someone who bought and sold guns as a hobby, making small profits here and there, was probably safe from prosecution. After 2022, that same person might be an unlicensed dealer. The conduct didnt change. The law did. And the change wasnt retroactive in theory, but the evidence from before 2022 can still be used to establish a pattern.

If youve been buying and selling guns for years - at gun shows, online, through private sales - the activity you thought was legal hobby might now be federal crime. The only question is wheather investigators decide to look at you.

Defense Strategies That Actually Work

Not every trace leads to charges, and not every charge leads to conviction. The conviction rate for unlicensed dealing at trial is only about 53% - nearly one-third of defendants charged with this offense are ultimatly not convicted. That means defense strategies matter.

Challenge knowledge. Prosecutors must prove you knew or had reason to believe the buyer was prohibited, or that you intended to profit. If you can show you had no reason to suspect anything was wrong - the buyer seemed normal, the transaction was unremarkable, you had no information suggesting prohibition - that challenges the knowledge element.

Challenge intent. For unlicensed dealing, prosecutors need to prove profit intent. If you can show other reasons for buying and selling - collection management, changing interests, financial need unrelated to the guns themselves - that challenges dealing intent.

Challenge the trace. Sometimes traces are wrong. Serial numbers get misread. Records are incomplete. If the trace that connects you to a crime gun is questionable, the entire investigation foundation is weak.

Document your sales. If you sell guns privately, keep records. Who you sold to. When. For how much. Get copies of the buyers ID. This dosent eliminate risk, but it shows good faith and gives you something to point to years later when you cant remember the transaction.

Todd Spodek has defended clients against ATF investigations at every stage - from the initial trace contact through federal trial. The key is getting involved early, before casual cooperation becomes self-incrimination. Once you've made statements to investigators, your options narrow dramaticaly.

What To Do If ATF Contacts You

If you receive a call or visit from ATF about a firearm trace, understand this: you are not required to talk to them. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to counsel. Exercise both.

Do not assume that cooperation will clear your name. Investigators are not trying to help you. They are trying to solve a crime, and you are a starting point for that investigation. Everything you say becomes part of the file. Even truthful statements can be taken out of context or used to establish patterns you didnt realize existed.

Do not lie. Making false statements to federal agents is a separate crime - 18 USC 1001 - that can add five years to whatever else you might be charged with. If you cant answer truthfully without incriminating yourself, dont answer at all. Say: "I want to consult with an attorney before answering any questions."

Preserve any documentation you have. Bills of sale. Text messages about the transaction. Photos. Anything that shows what happened and when. This information might be critical to your defense years from now.

Call Spodek Law Group at 212-300-5196. Our office is in the Woolworth Building in Manhattan, but we handle federal firearms cases nationwide. The consultation is free. We understand how ATF traces work and how to respond to them. Todd Spodek has represented clients who thought they were just answering a few questions and ended up facing federal charges. Early intervention matters. The system is designed to connect crime guns back to you - the original purchaser. Knowing how to navigate that system is the difference between a brief inquiry and a federal indictment.

The Reality You Need to Accept

The gun you sold five years ago, to someone you barely remember, can trigger an investigation today. Thats not a theoretical risk - thats how 654,064 traces work every year. Your name is in federal records. The only question is wheather your name appears in a trace, and what happens when it does.

Every private gun sale creates risk. Not because private sales are illegal - most arent. But because you have no control over what happens to that gun after you sell it. The buyer could be prohibited and lying to you. The buyer could sell it to someone else whos prohibited. The gun could be stolen from the buyer and used in a crime. None of that is your fault. But all of it triggers a trace that starts with you.

The median time-to-crime is now 2.9 years. That means half of all crime guns were purchased less then three years before being used in a crime. If youve sold any guns in the past three years, the statistical probability that one of them shows up in a trace is real and growing. Not certain. But real.

Some people respond to this by keeping detailed records of every sale - names, addresses, copies of IDs. Thats smart. Others respond by never selling guns privately. Thats also smart. But if youve already sold guns over the years without records, that risk already exists. The question is what you do when ATF calls.

The answer is: nothing. Say nothing untill youve spoken to an attorney who understands federal firearms law. The trace already happened. Your name is already in the file. What you say next determines wheather this becomes a case or a closed inquiry.