Man used 3D printers to make part turning guns into machine guns in AL, feds say
An Alabama man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after he was accused of stealing government funds and transferring 3D printing parts that turned weapons into machine guns, federal prosecutors said.
Starting in 2018, the 35-year-old man from Florence, Alabama, began collecting Social Security disability benefits under the name of another person, according to an Oct. 6 release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Florida.
He received $46,426.91 in funds from the Social Security Administration over the next four years, prosecutors said.
During that time, the man was using 3D printers to make parts for weapons, according to the release.
He printed auto sears, a weapon part that is used to convert a legal firearm into a machine gun, according to prosecutors.
The man made hundreds of auto sears and started a business of selling and shipping them to other regions of the country, according to the release.
Prosecutors say he advertised his illegal business on social media.
Beginning in December 2021, the man communicated with an undercover Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent and tried to sell him the printed parts, prosecutors said.
They negotiated the sale until March 2022, when the man packaged and shipped hundreds of auto sears from his home in Alabama to Florida, according to the release.
When investigators searched his home, they found a machine gun, 111 3D printed auto sears, 11 silencers and multiple 3D printers, prosecutors said.
The man pleaded guilty to transferring machine gun conversion devices and theft of government funds in April 2023, according to prosecutors.
In addition to prison time, the man was ordered to pay back the thousands stolen from Social Security, plus a restitution payment of the same amount, according to the release.
Florence is in the northwest corner of Alabama, about 75 miles west of Huntsville.
This story was originally published October 6, 2023 at 6:49 PM with the headline "Man used 3D printers to make part turning guns into machine guns in AL, feds say."
