NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FEDERAL LAWYERS
How serious is unserialized firearm
|Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek. We have over 40 years of combined experience handling federal firearms cases, and we’re known for taking on cases that others say were unwinnable. We’ve represented clients in high-profile matters – like the Anna Delvey Netflix case, the Ghislaine Maxwell juror misconduct case, and defending against federal gun trafficking charges that prosecutors thought were slam dunks.
Unserialized firearms are extremely serious. Federal prosecutors are charging these cases aggressively in 2025, especially after the Supreme Court upheld the ATF’s ghost gun rule in March. You’re looking at 5 to 10 years in federal prison depending on what you’re charged with – and that’s before state charges get stacked on top. If you’ve been caught with an unserialized gun, if you manufactured one, if you sold weapon parts kits without a license – you need to understand exactly what you’re facing right now.
This article covers the federal penalties for unserialized firearms, the Supreme Court decision that changed everything in 2025, how federal prosecutors are handling these cases, and what charges you might be looking at. We’re going to explain this in terms that make sense – because the ATF regulations are confusing, the statutes overlap, and most people don’t realize how many different ways you can catch a federal gun charge until it’s too late.
Federal Penalties Are Harsh and Prosecutors Are Using Them
Possessing a firearm with the serial number removed or obliterated – that’s 18 USC 922(k). Maximum penalty is 5 years in federal prison. But that’s just possession of a gun where someone scratched off the numbers.
Manufacturing unserialized firearms without a license, dealing in ghost guns, selling weapon parts kits – those charges fall under unlicensed dealing in firearms. You’re looking at up to 10 years under federal law. And federal prosecutors in 2024 and 2025 have been handing out the full 10 years in plea agreements and at sentencing.
In May 2024, Harry Miller got 10 years for manufacturing and selling “hit kits” containing ghost guns and silencers. Federal prosecutors said Miller made tens of thousands of dollars selling these kits. He couldn’t legally possess firearms because of prior convictions, but he was manufacturing them anyway. Ten years.
Alonte Wilkinson in Washington D.C. got 57 months in January 2025 for possessing a single ghost gun. Police stopped him for shoplifting, found the unserialized pistol, charged him as a felon in possession. Four and a half years for one gun.
These aren’t outlier sentences – judges are treating unserialized firearms as serious threats, and the sentences reflect that.
Supreme Court Upheld ATF Ghost Gun Rule in March 2025
The legal landscape changed on March 26, 2025. The Supreme Court decided Bondi v. VanDerStok – and in a 7-2 decision, the Court upheld the ATF’s 2022 rule regulating ghost guns and weapon parts kits.
The rule expands the definition of “firearm” to include weapon parts kits that can “readily be converted” into functional guns. Before this, you could buy an 80% lower receiver and all the parts needed to build a Glock without a serial number, without a background check, without any record.
Not anymore. Those parts kits are now regulated as firearms. Manufacturers serialize them. Dealers run background checks. Selling these kits without a Federal Firearms License is dealing in firearms without a license – a federal felony.
Justice Gorsuch wrote that ATF was within its authority under the 1968 Gun Control Act. The statute’s definition is broad enough to cover parts kits “readily convertible” to working guns.
If you bought a ghost gun kit in 2023 or 2024 thinking it was legal because it didn’t come fully assembled, that defense is gone. The Supreme Court upheld the rule. You needed a background check, the seller needed an FFL – if that didn’t happen, someone committed a federal crime.
Multiple Ways to Catch Federal Charges
Possessing a gun with a removed serial number – 18 USC 922(k). Even if you didn’t remove it yourself, you can be charged. Federal prosecutors prove you knowingly possessed a firearm with the serial number removed. Five years.
Manufacturing firearms without a license. If you build guns from parts kits and sell even one, ATF considers you “engaged in the business” of dealing firearms. You need an FFL. Without one, that’s 10 years. ATF is cracking down on people selling homemade guns online, at gun shows, through private sales.
Transferring or selling unserialized firearms. Selling or transferring a ghost gun violates federal law – especially if the gun crossed state lines, which gives federal prosecutors jurisdiction.
Justice Kavanaugh noted most federal firearms violations require proof you knew your conduct was illegal. But background check violations apply even if you didn’t know. “I didn’t know” isn’t always a defense.
State Charges Stack on Top
Federal charges aren’t the only problem. State prosecutors file their own ghost gun cases – and penalties can match or exceed federal law.
Seven states banned unserialized 3D-printed firearms completely. Possessing a ghost gun in those states is a felony, even if you’re not a prohibited person federally.
Selling or transferring an unserialized firearm is illegal in all 50 states. Some classify this as a Class C felony – 10 years in state prison, $10,000 fines. That’s on top of federal sentences.
Dexter Taylor in Brooklyn got 10 years in state court in May 2024 after police found 13 unserialized weapons in his apartment. New York state prosecution – no federal charges, but same sentence length.
What You Should Know Right Now
If you’re under investigation – don’t talk to ATF agents, don’t talk to police, don’t explain where you got the gun. These cases are built on statements defendants make before hiring lawyers.
Federal prosecutors in 2025 are treating ghost guns as priorities. The ATF rule is settled law after the Supreme Court decision. Agencies have funding and political support – the sentences are real.
At Spodek Law Group, we’ve defended federal firearms charges in multiple districts. Unlicensed dealing, felon in possession, straw purchases – many, many firearms cases over 40 years. We know how ATF builds investigations, what defenses work in federal court, how to negotiate with prosecutors when evidence is strong.
Ghost gun cases can be won – but by lawyers who understand the statutes and ATF regulations, who challenge the government’s proof on knowledge and intent. Not by hoping the case disappears or trying to convince agents you made an honest mistake. If you’ve been charged or you’re under investigation, call us.