Pearl Man Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Attempting to Acquire a Firearm by Fraud

Jackson, Miss. – Michael Wayne Pearson, 49, of Pearl, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Henry T. Wingate to 15 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for attempting to acquire a firearm by making fraudulent statements on a federal background check form and causing a federal firearms licensee to keep false information,  announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Kurt Thielhorn, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). 

On July 24, 2018, Pearson attempted to purchase a firearm from a gun shop in Pearl, Mississippi. He completed and signed ATF Form 4473 while at the gun shop as part of the federally required background check process. The form requires the firearm purchaser to designate whether they have ever been committed to a mental institution. Pearson fraudulently checked "No" and signed the form, certifying that his false answer was truthful. Under federal law, it is unlawful for a person who has been judicially committed involuntarily to either possess or purchase a firearm.

Pearson had previously been judicially committed for mental treatment by the Chancery Court of Rankin County. The firearm purchase was denied after the National Instant Criminal Background Check System rejected his attempted purchase due to his previous commitment for mental treatment.

Pearson was charged in a federal indictment on December 11, 2018, with making a false statement in an attempt to acquire a firearm and giving false information to a federal firearm licensee.  He was found guilty by a jury in U.S. District Court on April 24, 2019.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys S. Lynn Murray and Charles W. Kirkham.

This case is part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws.  Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities.  For more information about Project Guardian, please click here.