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What is illegal gun business charges
|Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group. At Spodek Law Group – we take federal firearms charges seriously. Todd Spodek, our managing partner, is a second-generation criminal defense attorney with over 40 years of combined experience across our team. We’ve represented clients in cases that dominated national headlines – Anna Delvey’s Netflix series, the Ghislaine Maxwell juror misconduct case, and many, many others. If you’re facing illegal gun business charges, you need attorneys who understand ATF enforcement and federal prosecutors’ tactics.
This article explains what illegal gun business charges mean under federal law, what prosecutors need to prove, what penalties you’re facing, and why 2025 enforcement looks different. Federal firearms prosecutions carry serious prison time – this isn’t something you handle alone.
What Makes Gun Dealing a Federal Crime
Federal law draws a line between private gun sales and running a gun business. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(1)(A), it’s illegal to engage in the business of dealing firearms without a Federal Firearms License. That means you can’t buy and sell guns for profit as your regular course of business – not without ATF approval and licensing.
The issue isn’t whether you sold one gun or a hundred. It’s whether prosecutors can show you were “engaged in the business” of dealing firearms. You sold guns to turn a profit, you advertised firearms for sale, you maintained inventory – these facts matter. Someone who sells a couple guns from their personal collection isn’t running a business. Someone who buys firearms at gun shows every month and resells them online absolutely is.
ATF changed the rules in 2024. The “Engaged in the Business” Final Rule broadened what counts as dealing firearms without a license. The old test focused heavily on whether you intended to make profit as your livelihood – your primary income source. The new standard is much broader. If you’re buying and selling guns repeatedly to turn any profit, even as a side business, you likely need a license. Federal prosecutors in 2025 are using this expanded definition aggressively.
What Prosecutors Must Prove
The government has to show you knowingly violated the law. That means proving you understood you were dealing firearms as a business without the required federal license. Prosecutors prove this through your conduct – how many guns you bought and sold, whether you rented tables at gun shows, whether you advertised online.
Your intent matters here – but not the way most people think. Prosecutors don’t care if you thought you were “just helping friends” or “barely making any profit.” If you’re buying guns to resell them, you’re dealing. If you’re advertising guns for sale on Armslist or Facebook groups, you’re dealing. If you’ve got twenty handguns in your safe that you bought specifically to flip for cash, you’re dealing. The technical legal definition doesn’t match most people’s common-sense understanding of what a “business” is – and that gap gets people federal charges.
Penalties You’re Actually Facing
Dealing firearms without a license carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine under 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(1)(D). Most cases don’t stop there.
Federal prosecutors stack charges. You’re dealing without a license – that’s one count. You shipped a firearm across state lines – that’s another. You sold a gun to someone you had reason to know was a felon – now you’re looking at additional counts. You made a false statement to ATF – that’s 18 U.S.C. § 1001, which carries its own five-year maximum.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, passed in 2022, added new federal firearms trafficking statutes. The Department of Justice announced over 500 prosecutions under these provisions by 2024. These are standalone trafficking charges specifically designed to target unlicensed dealers.
Federal sentencing guidelines calculate your prison time based on offense level and criminal history. The base offense level depends on how many firearms were involved and whether any were traced to crimes. If guns you sold ended up at crime scenes, your guidelines range skyrockets.
Prison isn’t automatic for first-time offenders with low firearm counts, but it’s common. Federal judges in 2025 take gun cases seriously. The government’s position is that unlicensed dealers undermine every public safety measure built into the federal firearms regulatory system.
How ATF Builds These Cases
ATF doesn’t stumble onto unlicensed dealers by accident. They run undercover operations at gun shows, monitor online firearms marketplaces, and trace guns recovered at crime scenes. When that chain leads to someone without an FFL, they start investigating.
The evidence is usually overwhelming by the time you’re indicted. ATF will have your gun show vendor records, online sales posts, text messages with buyers, bank records, firearms trace data, and witness testimony. They build meticulous paper trails first.
Some defendants claim they were just selling their personal collection. That defense fails when ATF shows you bought fifteen Glock 19s over three months and sold them all within weeks. Prosecutors will put an ATF expert on the stand to explain exactly why your pattern demonstrates a business – and juries believe ATF experts.
Why 2025 Enforcement Changed
Cases that might have been declined in 2020 are getting indicted in 2025. Someone selling guns online as a side business, someone buying and flipping firearms at gun shows a few times a year – these are federal cases now. The “Engaged in the Business” rule from 2024 gave federal prosecutors a broader definition to work with. We’re seeing prosecutions against people who would have fallen into a gray area under the old standard.
What You Should Do If You’re Facing These Charges
Stop talking to investigators immediately. ATF agents will approach you and say they “just want to understand what happened” or they “need to verify some information.” Everything you say becomes evidence against you. Exercise your right to remain silent and contact an attorney – not tomorrow, right now.
Many defendants give statements to ATF thinking they can explain away the problem. You can’t. ATF already has the evidence they need, or they wouldn’t be talking to you. We’ve handled hundreds of federal cases – defendants who talk to investigators always regret it.
These cases sometimes offer opportunities for negotiation before indictment. An experienced federal criminal defense attorney may be able to negotiate a resolution that avoids felony charges – civil penalties, consent agreements, or other outcomes that don’t destroy your life.
At Spodek Law Group, we’ve got former federal prosecutors who understand how these cases get built and what leverage exists. We’ve represented clients in firearms cases that resulted in reduced charges, dismissed counts, and sentences well below the guidelines range. Not every case is winnable, but every case has angles.
Illegal gun business charges carry serious federal prison time, but they’re also technical cases that require the government to prove specific elements. Prosecutors have to show you were engaged in the business – not just that you sold some guns. They have to prove you knew you needed a license. These are elements we can challenge, facts we can contest, and theories we can undermine.
Don’t handle this alone. Federal prosecutors have unlimited resources, experienced agents, and expert witnesses. You need a legal team that can match their firepower – someone who’s been in federal court many, many times. Contact us 24/7 at Spodek Law Group.