Florida Couple Sentenced To Federal Prison For Unlicensed Dealing In Firearms And Falsification Of Gun Purchase Records

Ocala, Florida – Senior United States District Judge John C. Antoon II has sentenced Kingsley Wilson (35, Kissimmee) to 3 years and 10 months in federal prison for dealing in firearms without a license, making a materially false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer (FFL), and causing an FFL to maintain false information in its official records. His co-defendant, Viviana Rodriguez (41, Kissimmee), has been sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in federal prison for dealing in firearms without a license, making a materially false statement to an FFL, and causing an FFL to maintain false information in its official records. Both Wilson and Rodriguez entered guilty pleas in late 2023.

According to evidence presented in court, between January 2022 and July 2023, Wilson purchased 92 firearms from multiple gun dealers in the Middle District of Florida. Rodriguez, Wilson’s girlfriend, purchased an additional 48 firearms during that same period.

While purchasing the firearms, Wilson and Rodriguez each falsely certified on ATF Form 4473s (Firearm Transaction Records) that he or she was the “actual transferee/buyer” of the firearms. In actuality, Wilson and Rodriguez were purchasing these firearms for others in exchange for monetary payments. Wilson’s cellphone revealed numerous conversations between Wilson and others, including Rodriguez, about the illegal purchases and transfer of these firearms.

To date, 24 of the firearms purchased by Wilson and Rodriguez have been recovered by law enforcement at crime scenes involving drug trafficking, illegal firearm possession by felons, shootings, and homicides. Of the 24 recovered firearms, 12 were found in The Bahamas and another 12 in Canada. This firearms trafficking prosecution was made possible, in part, by firearms tracing conducted in cooperation with the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Ontario Provincial Police, and ATF’s International Affairs Division.

“Gun traffickers are the purveyors of violent crime,” said ATF Tampa Field Division Special Agent in Charge Kirk Howard. “Our investigators immediately stopped the illegal flow of crime guns to neighboring countries and then worked with partners to bring two conniving suspects to justice.”

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, and the Royal Bahamas Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.

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.