DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
District of Maine

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Halsey B. Frank
, United States Attorney
Contact: Joel B. Casey

Levant Woman Pleads Guilty to Lying to Federal Firearms Dealer and Federal Agent

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Amy Bingaman, 34, of Levant, Maine, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to conspiring to make false statements to a federal firearms licensee and making false statements to a federal law enforcement officer. 
 
According to court records, in late February 2018, the defendant conspired with two others to lie to a Brewer federal firearms licensee in connection with the purchase of a .380 caliber handgun.  In connection with that purchase, the defendant falsely represented that she was buying the handgun for herself, when, in fact, the actual buyer was another conspirator who was paying her to make the purchase.  The handgun was recovered during the execution of a narcotics trafficking search warrant in Brewer. 
 
When the defendant was interviewed by federal agents about purchasing firearms for others, she falsely stated that she had not purchased other firearms for anyone else, when, in fact, she had done so several times previously.
 
The defendant faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release on each count.  She will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
 
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Brewer Police Department, with assistance provided by the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office.  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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
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Boston Field Division