Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Richard R. Hemingway, 22, of Ludlow, Maine, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to providing false information to a federal firearms licensee (“FFL”) and filling out a false Firearms Transaction Record during the purchase of two firearms.  Hemingway was indicted in June 2018.

According to court records, on October 4, 2017, Hemingway purchased a Windham Weaponry ‘WW-15’ .300BLK caliber AR-15 style rifle and a Sig Sauer ‘MCX’ .300BLK caliber AR-15 style rifle from an FFL.  In doing so, he completed a Firearms Transaction Record form in which he falsely reported that he was the actual purchaser of the firearms.  In fact, Hemingway was buying the firearms for another individual. 

Hemingway faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for making false statements to an FFL and up to five years in prison and a $250,000 on the false record charge.  He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority.  In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

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