Owner of Popular Parts Website, HK Parts Inc, Charged With Illegally Selling Firearms

[Biggy]

http://gunssavelives.net/gun-industr...ling-firearms/

[SteyrAUG]

This is screwed...

Webber had previously agreed to never apply for a Federal Firearms License (FFL) and never engage in the business of buying and selling guns due to an agreement reached after he failed to follow some clerical steps in the transfer of a privately owned machine gun. The DOJ/ATF is alleging that he broke this agreement when he used third party FFLs to do gun transfers related to the business.

So because someone makes a clerical error on the transfer of a privately owned machine gun ATF uses that as an opportunity to make that person sign an agreement to never become a FFL?!? So if I screw up on the title process of a car, does that mean I can never become a car dealer?

And the third party FFL stuff sounds like bullshit. He wasn't a FFL so clearly he wasn't buying from wholesalers and having guns shipped directly to him. So as a private person he was buying and selling firearms and using a FFL to properly transfer ownership to other buyers just like every other private seller on the internet.

So much for the protections of FOPA 86 I guess. But if they can't make any of that stick, there is always taxes.

[jpmuscle]

Such an amazing waste of our tax dollars...


Dumbfounding really...

[thei3ug]

those last six counts may be the bigger issue for him. For the rest there are a lot of unknowns in this release.

[interfan]

...And the third party FFL stuff sounds like bullshit. He wasn't a FFL so clearly he wasn't buying from wholesalers and having guns shipped directly to him. So as a private person he was buying and selling firearms and using a FFL to properly transfer ownership to other buyers just like every other private seller on the internet...

According to the logic the BATFE applies in this indictment, if someone lists a firearm for sale on Gunbroker or the EE as a non-FFL and uses a FFL for the transfer, they can be indicted for selling without a license? Granted, there is no agreement in place with the BATFE to not apply for a FFL for most people, but using a third party FFL is the same as any private party transfer between non-FFLs across state lines. I don't see how this is somehow illegal when it is what the law says you have to do.

Is the new test as a "for profit" operation, like if a person bought a Saiga for $500 and sold it for $1000 on Gunbroker? Does the BATFE consider this to be a "business" now?

This indictment can open Pandora's box if the charges stick and there is a conviction. Unless there is a whole lot more to the story that is behind the indictment, it seems to be a case of a prosecutor overcharging to see what can be pled down.

I hope Adam has the resources available to him to fight, but fighting the weight of the US Government is like trying to block an avalanche with a cocktail umbrella. This just smells and would be a travesty for all those P7s to be destroyed.

Indictment: http://www.justice.gov/tax/2014/AMWebber_Indictment.pdf

Seizure List: http://www.justice.gov/tax/2014/AMWe...Attachment.pdf

[C4IGrant]

If this sticks, there will be a huge hole left in the HK parts market.



C4

[markm]

I'm not jumping to any conclusions one way or another, but it seems that these cases always end up with some joker who didn't know when to cut the shit. Valid points on the gunbroker examples, however.

Without the full story, it reads like he avoided prison on a shady MG transfer... There's been too many cases where you want to defend the guy, but it turns out he was a shit head who had it coming...

[Doc Safari]

According to the logic the BATFE applies in this indictment, if someone lists a firearm for sale on Gunbroker or the EE as a non-FFL and uses a FFL for the transfer, they can be indicted for selling without a license? Granted, there is no agreement in place with the BATFE to not apply for a FFL for most people, but using a third party FFL is the same as any private party transfer between non-FFLs across state lines. I don't see how this is somehow illegal when it is what the law says you have to do.

Is the new test as a "for profit" operation, like if a person bought a Saiga for $500 and sold it for $1000 on Gunbroker? Does the BATFE consider this to be a "business" now?

Add to that, if you put a firearm on consignment at the LGS and sell it at a profit will you potentially be accused of "engaging in the business" of selling firearms?

If you inherit a bunch of guns you don't want and decide to have the LGS sell them for you, are you suddenly "selling firearms without a license?"

[TAZ]

Don't know the guy, but upon first take it appears he got on uncle sugars radar with the messed up MG transfer. Then he supposed filed bad tax returns. If I had to guess the bad tax returns are what they are really pissed at and piled on anything else they could think of in order to gain lord leverage over his negotiation position. We'll drop the FFL crap if you simply pay up... That sort of thing.

It also seems weird that he was brokering gun sales via third party FFL's. Whether it's valid or not; there is an argument to be made if you're repeatedly selling guns through third party dealers you're engaging in the sale of guns. Which he agree not to do. You can't sell guns on gunbroker, repeatedly for profit and expect people to believe you're not engaged in the sale of guns.

[montanadave]

Based solely on the information in the article cited, this guy got jammed up back when, cut a deal to save his ass, put himself on the radar with more than a few alphabet-soup agencies, proceeded to start cheating on his taxes, and subsequently got bit in the ass.

Where's the beef?