Federally licensed gun dealer sentenced for selling guns to unlicensed dealers for resale
A federally licensed firearms dealer was sentenced to four years in prison on Friday after he pleaded guilty to selling guns to unlicensed dealers for resale, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Jonathan Ludlow, 48, pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to deal firearms without a license and make false statements on ATF forms, as well as possession of an unregistered suppressor.
In his plea, Ludlow admitted he sold out of his vehicle large numbers of identical firearms, including AR-15 style pistols, to unlicensed associates regularly, according to the Justice Department. He said he knew they intended to immediately try to resell the guns for profit.
The sales occurred at multiple locations across DFW and the firearms were typically sold for cash, according to the Justice Department.
Two of the people to whom he illegally sold the weapons, Romello Harris and Christopher Meza, pleaded guilty to conspiring with Ludlow to deal firearms without a weapon, according to the Justice Department. They said that, in order to cover up their crime, Harris and Meza would lie on forms submitted to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, saying they were the “actual transferees” of the guns. They weren’t.
Harris has been sentenced to one year and one month in prison and Meza is awaiting sentencing, according to the Justice Department.
Ludlow would lie about the date and location of the transaction, the type of firearms sold and details regarding compliance with the National Institute of Criminal Background Checks System, according to the Justice Department.
Federal law prohibits federally licensed firearms dealers, or FFLs, from selling to “straw purchasers” or unlicensed dealers who the seller knows will “engage in the business of selling firearms,” according to the Justice Department. Private transfers conducted in the same state do not have federal requirements for background checks, but FFLs must run background checks on all buyers.
ATF executed a federal search warrant on Ludlow’s residence in Aledo and seized more than 100 firearms, including 17 AR-15-style weapons, 12 Glock pistols and around 10 unregistered suppressors, according to the Justice Department. All of those were forfeited, and Ludlow surrendered his federal firearms license.
Ludlow was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor in Fort Worth.