NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FEDERAL LAWYERS
What is ghost gun charges
|Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek, who has many, many years of experience as a criminal defense attorney. Our team has over 40 years of combined experience defending federal cases, including charges you’ve probably heard about in the news – like the Anna Delvey Netflix series, the Ghislaine Maxwell juror misconduct case, and others that made national headlines. Ghost gun charges are exploding right now in federal court, and prosecutors are treating these cases more seriously than most people realize.
Ghost guns – that’s what prosecutors call firearms without serial numbers. They’re untraceable. No background check, no record of who built them or bought them, nothing. The ATF hates them. Federal prosecutors love charging them. And if you’re caught with one, you’re looking at serious prison time even if you thought you were doing something legal.
In March 2025, the Supreme Court made this worse – way worse. They upheld the ATF’s 2022 rule that expanded what counts as a “firearm” to include unfinished frames, receivers, and build kits. The vote was 7-2. That rule isn’t going anywhere. If you’ve got a Polymer80 kit sitting in your garage, if you bought an unfinished frame online thinking it wasn’t technically a gun yet, if you’re selling these parts without a federal firearms license – you can be prosecuted under federal law right now.
What Federal Charges You’re Actually Facing
Ghost gun cases get charged under 18 USC 922 and 924 – the same statutes that cover all federal gun crimes. Possession of an unserialized firearm can get you up to 10 years in federal prison. If you’re a prohibited person – felon, drug user, domestic violence conviction – and you’ve got a ghost gun, that’s 15 years maximum under 922(g). Some defendants with prior convictions face mandatory minimum sentences of 15 years with no parole under the Armed Career Criminal Act.
Selling ghost guns or build kits without a license lands you in deeper trouble. The federal government treats unlicensed dealing as a separate charge – you’re running an illegal firearms business. That stacks charges and adds years to your sentence.
The ATF reported over 27,000 ghost guns recovered in 2023. Prosecutors at the Department of Justice launched a National Ghost Gun Enforcement Initiative in 2022 – they trained federal prosecutors in every district to handle these cases. Recent sentences prove this. An Evansville man got 7 years for 3D-printing a ghost gun. Another defendant got 10 years for possessing unserialized components as a felon. A case in Indiana resulted in 66 months for combining drug trafficking with ghost guns.
The ATF Rule That Changed Everything
On April 11, 2022, the Attorney General signed ATF final rule 2021R-05F. It went into effect that August. The rule redefined “frame or receiver” and clarified what counts as a firearm under the Gun Control Act of 1968. Before this rule, you could buy an 80% lower receiver – an unfinished gun part – and finish it yourself without a serial number, without a background check, totally legal. Not anymore.
Now those unfinished parts are firearms if they’re “readily convertible” to shoot. Build kits with all the parts you need – those are firearms too. If you’re a federal firearms licensee and you take a ghost gun into your inventory, you’ve got 7 days to add a serial number or you’re violating federal law. You have to run background checks on anyone you transfer it to. You have to keep records. The same rules that apply to a brand-new Glock apply to a homemade pistol built in someone’s garage.
Gun rights groups challenged the rule. The case went to the Supreme Court. In Bondi v. VanDerStok, the Court upheld the ATF’s rule 7-2. Justice Gorsuch wrote the majority opinion. That decision in March 2025 ended any hope of rolling back the rule.
Why “Willfulness” Might Save You (Or Might Not)
Under federal law, you can only be penalized for violating licensing, recordkeeping, or serialization requirements if you acted “willfully.” That means the government has to prove you knew your conduct was unlawful. If you genuinely didn’t know the ATF rule applied to your situation, if you built a gun before the rule took effect, if you relied on bad legal advice – that’s a potential defense.
Justice Kavanaugh raised this issue during oral arguments in the VanDerStok case. He suggested defendants might have a due process defense “based on lack of fair notice” if they weren’t clearly warned that their conduct was illegal. That’s real. That’s something a good federal defense lawyer can use.
But don’t count on it saving you. Federal prosecutors will argue you should have known – the rule was publicized, the ATF put out guidance, gun forums and websites talked about it constantly. If you bought a build kit after August 2022 and didn’t add a serial number, the government’s going to say you knew exactly what you were doing. If you sold these parts online, if you advertised them as “undetectable” or “untraceable,” if you marketed them to people who can’t pass background checks – there’s no way you’re claiming ignorance. You knew.
And even if you win on willfulness, you might still face other charges. If you’re a prohibited person, possessing any firearm – serialized or not – is illegal. If the ghost gun was used in another crime, if it was found during a drug arrest, if you lied on any forms or made false statements to investigators – those are separate charges that don’t require proving willfulness.
What You Should Do If You’re Facing Ghost Gun Charges
If federal agents contacted you, if the ATF executed a search warrant, if you were arrested for possessing or selling ghost guns – don’t say anything. Seriously. People think they can explain their way out of these charges. You can’t. Everything you say gets used against you. The government doesn’t need your confession – they’ve got the physical evidence, they’ve got your internet search history, they’ve got your purchase records from online retailers.
You need a lawyer who understands federal firearms law – someone who’s handled ATF cases before, someone who knows the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines for weapons offenses, someone who’s argued motions to suppress in federal court. These cases move fast. The statute of limitations gives prosecutors 5 years, but they usually file charges way before that. Once you’re indicted, you’ve got limited time to file pretrial motions, negotiate a plea, or prepare for trial.
At Spodek Law Group, we’ve handled federal gun cases for clients across the country. We know how the ATF builds these cases. We know what defenses work and what gets dismissed in court. We’ve negotiated with federal prosecutors to drop counts, reduce sentencing recommendations, and secure relief for clients who qualified.
Ghost gun charges carry real prison time – they destroy your right to own firearms forever and wreck your future. But they’re defensable if you’ve got someone who knows federal firearms law. We’re available 24/7 to review your case and explain your options. Call us.