NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FEDERAL LAWYERS
What is NFA weapon charges
|Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – we’re a second generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek, with over 40 years of combined experience handling federal weapons cases. We’ve represented clients in cases that made national headlines, like Anna Delvey whose story became a Netflix series, the Ghislaine Maxwell juror misconduct case, and many others that other law firms wouldn’t touch. If you’re reading this, you’re probably facing an NFA charge or someone you care about is – and you need to understand what that means.
NFA weapon charges are federal felony prosecutions for possessing firearms regulated under the National Firearms Act of 1934 without proper registration. We’re talking about machine guns, silencers, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, destructive devices – weapons that require registration with ATF and tax stamp approval. The government doesn’t play around with these cases. You’re looking at up to 10 years in federal prison, $10,000 in fines, and permanent loss of your gun rights if convicted under 26 U.S.C. § 5861.
What Makes a Firearm an NFA Weapon
The National Firearms Act doesn’t regulate regular firearms – your typical handguns, rifles, shotguns with standard barrel lengths. It targets specific categories that Congress decided needed federal oversight back in 1934. Machine guns, any firearm that shoots more than one round with a single trigger pull. Silencers or suppressors that reduce the sound of firing. Short-barreled rifles with barrels under 16 inches or overall length under 26 inches. Short-barreled shotguns with barrels under 18 inches. Destructive devices like grenades, bombs, rockets. “Any other weapons” – pen guns, cane guns, weapons disguised as everyday objects.
You need ATF approval before you make, transfer, or possess any of these firearms. That means filing ATF Form 1 to manufacture an NFA weapon or Form 4 to transfer one, paying the tax (currently $200 for most items), waiting months for approval. Without that paperwork and registration, you’re committing a federal felony the moment you possess the weapon. Doesn’t matter if you didn’t know it needed registration. Doesn’t matter if you inherited it. The statute doesn’t require knowledge – just possession.
Federal Prosecutors Don’t Negotiate These Cases Away
We see defendants who think an NFA charge will get dropped or reduced to nothing. That’s not how federal court works. Violations of 26 U.S.C. § 5861 carry mandatory penalties – up to 10 years in prison, fines up to $10,000, both if the judge wants. You lose your right to own firearms permanently. No hunting rifles, no handguns, nothing.
Federal sentencing guidelines calculate your range based on the weapon type and your criminal history. Machine gun? You’re starting at a higher base offense level than someone with an unregistered suppressor. Prior felonies push your guideline range higher. Acceptance of responsibility – admitting what you did – gets you a 2-3 level reduction, sometimes the difference between 37 months and 51 months. Federal judges in 2025 are still sending people to prison for NFA violations.
How ATF Catches NFA Violations
Traffic stops are common. Officer pulls you over, sees something during the stop or gets consent to search, finds your short-barreled AR-15 with no tax stamp. You’re arrested on the spot. Search warrants for drug investigations turn up unregistered suppressors. Someone selling “solvent traps” online gets raided, customer lists seized, ATF shows up at buyers’ doors.
Pistol braces became a massive enforcement issue. You buy a pistol with a stabilizing brace, ATF later decides it’s actually a short-barreled rifle, now you’re possessing an unregistered NFA weapon. The Taylor Taranto case in 2025 showed ATF is still prosecuting people for braced pistols – agents measured the weight, length of pull, decided it was an SBR, charged him federally. Doesn’t matter that you bought it legally. ATF changed the rules, and you’re stuck with a federal charge.
Gun shows and private sales without proper transfers generate cases. You buy a suppressor from someone at a gun show, no Form 4 transfer, no tax paid, you just hand over cash and walk away with it. That’s two federal felonies – unlawful transfer and unlawful possession.
The 2025 Legal Landscape Changed But Registration Still Matters
Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025, signed July 4th. Starting January 1, 2026, the $200 tax stamp fee drops to zero for suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and AOWs. Machine guns and destructive devices still require the $200 tax. People think this means NFA restrictions are gone – that’s wrong. You still need ATF approval. You still file Form 1 or Form 4. You still register the weapon. The only change is you don’t pay $200 anymore for most items.
Possessing an unregistered NFA weapon is still a federal felony after January 2026. The Fifth Circuit case United States v. Peterson challenged suppressor regulations – the court said suppressors aren’t protected by the Second Amendment, upheld the conviction. Courts are not throwing out these prosecutions.
Defending NFA Charges Requires Attacking the Government’s Case
We start with the search and seizure. Did law enforcement violate the Fourth Amendment when they found your weapon? Traffic stop without reasonable suspicion? Search warrant based on stale information or false affidavit? Evidence obtained illegally gets suppressed – no evidence, no case. We’ve won dismissals by proving officers exceeded the scope of a consent search or that the initial stop was pretextual.
Lack of knowledge matters in some scenarios. You inherited a footlocker from your uncle, never opened it, police search your garage and find an unregistered machine gun. Prosecutors have to prove you knowingly possessed it – that you knew it was there and knew what it was. Constructive possession cases are harder for the government when you live with roommates and an unregistered SBR is in a common area.
Classification disputes work when ATF’s determination is questionable. Is that firearm really a short-barreled rifle or is it a pistol? What’s the overall length when measured properly? We’ve had cases where ATF’s Firearms Technology Branch measured wrong or applied the wrong standards. Getting their classification thrown out kills the charge.
Spodek Law Group Handles Federal Weapons Cases Nationwide
We represent clients charged with NFA violations across the country. Federal court is different from state court – different rules, different prosecutors, different consequences. You need a defense team that knows the NFA inside and out, that’s willing to fight motions to suppress and take cases to trial when the government won’t offer reasonable plea deals.
Todd Spodek is a second-generation criminal defense lawyer who’s built his career on cases others wouldn’t take. Our firm has former federal prosecutors who know how the government builds these cases, what their weaknesses are, how to negotiate from strength. We’ve been featured in the New York Post, Bloomberg, Newsweek – not because we chase publicity but because we handle cases that matter.
NFA charges don’t resolve themselves. Every day you wait is a day prosecutors are building their case. We’re available 24/7 because federal agents don’t arrest people on convenient schedules. If you’re under investigation for an NFA violation or already charged, call us. We’ll review everything, explain your options in plain language, and start building your defense immediately. Federal weapons cases are what we do – many, many cases over many years.