Albion Man Sentenced for Guns-for-Drugs Straw Purchase Scheme

BANGOR, Maine: An Albion man was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Bangor today for knowingly making false statements to a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) while purchasing firearms.

U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. sentenced Jason Palmer, 43, to 12 months and one day in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Palmer pleaded guilty on October 24, 2023.

According to court records, between June and August 2022, Palmer obtained five pistols in five separate transactions with an FFL located in Fairfield. In each of those transactions, Palmer completed the required Form 4473 and misrepresented that he was the actual buyer of the firearm when he was in fact purchasing it for another individual. He also falsely indicated on the form that he was not an unlawful user of any controlled substances. In an interview with law enforcement, Palmer admitted that he had been offered heroin/fentanyl in exchange for purchasing the firearms.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Waterville Police Department investigated the case.

STRAW PURCHASING: A straw purchase is an illegal firearm purchase where the actual buyer of the gun, being unable to pass the required federal background check or desiring to not have his or her name associated with the transaction, uses a proxy buyer who can pass the required background check to purchase the firearm for him/her.

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