Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN —U.S. Attorney Mark Totten announced that today U.S. District Judge Jane M. Beckering sentenced Zachary Grosser, age 29, of Kalamazoo County, Michigan, to 12 years in federal prison for years spent illegally manufacturing and distributing firearms in West Michigan, including selling guns to people who were legally forbidden to possess them. In holding Grosser accountable for over 40 firearms, Judge Beckering emphasized the serious and brazen nature of his conduct, which she described as “extremely dangerous to the community.”

Grosser made and sold “ghost guns,” designed to be untraceable, and advertised that fact to potential buyers, as illustrated below.

“Today’s sentence sends a clear message to would-be arms dealers and criminal firearm users,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “Operating an unlicensed firearms dealership is against the law, period. Zachary Grosser made a business out of building and selling firearms to people forbidden to have them, with a promise that they would be untraceable. He was sorely mistaken. My office will continue to investigate and hold accountable all who would flood our communities with ghost guns or unlawfully possess them.”

In early 2021, law enforcement learned that Grosser was operating an illegal arms-dealing and manufacturing business from his Kalamazoo County residence. Through surveillance and searches of his trash, police found evidence that Grosser was making 3D-printed “ghost guns,” including handwritten instructions and partially-completed firearms. When state and federal investigators searched Grosser’s home in August 2021, they discovered a subterranean workshop filled with gunsmithing machines, tools, and parts, including multiple 3D-printers. They also found numerous completed firearms, including an illegal unregistered short-barreled rifle that was mounted to his wall, shown below. And they learned that, in connection with his illegal firearms business, Grosser had been using and dealing drugs.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Castle.

###