Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

FORT WAYNE –Adam Meekin, 26 years old, of Huntington, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Holly A. Brady after his plea of guilty to engaging in the business of dealing and manufacturing firearms and the unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Meekin was sentenced to 54 months in prison to be followed by 2 years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, in 2018, ATF observed that Meekin was advertising firearms for sale on social media. In 2017 and 2018, completed rifles were seized in investigations involving homicides, attempted homicides, robberies, and other criminal gang activity in Detroit, Chicago, and Fort Wayne. Eleven of these crime guns were traced to AR-15 style lower receivers purchased by a Meekin family member. The investigation revealed that Meekin’s family members completed paperwork and purchased at least 122 lower receivers on his behalf. In the summer of 2018, ATF agents performed a series of undercover operations from Meekin which involved purchasing completed rifles and ordering an illegal and unregistered firearm, which was a non-serialized, short-barreled fully automatic rifle, referred to as a “ghost gun”. During recorded conversations, Meekin admitted to being in business for several years and said that he could build any firearm.

“Gun violence is a problem plaguing our communities,” said United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson. “The flow of illegally purchased firearms, especially “ghost guns”, must stop. As this case shows, often the source of trafficked firearms is a person, like Mr. Meekin, who illegally manufactures and illegally sells them to violent criminals. With the assistance of the ATF and other law enforcement partners, my office will continue to prosecute, to the full extent that federal law allows, any person who illegally engages in the business of dealing and manufacturing firearms.”

“When privately made firearms end up in the hands of prohibited people, it threatens the safety of the community,” remarked ATF Special Agent in Charge Christopher Amon of the Chicago Field Division. “We will continue to investigate these important cases alongside our prosecutorial partners at the United States Attorney’s Office.”

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony W. Geller.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.