I Let Someone Use My ID to Buy a Gun – What Are the Charges

I Let Someone Use My ID to Buy a Gun – What Are the Charges

Someone used your identification to purchase a firearm. Maybe you let them. Maybe you didn’t realize what they were doing. Maybe you thought you were helping a friend who just needed to borrow your ID for something quick. Now federal agents are asking questions, and you’re realizing that your name on that Form 4473 creates criminal liability that has nothing to do with whether you ever touched that gun. Your identity is the federal evidence. And federal prosecutors don’t care who was physically holding the pen.

Welcome to Spodek Law Group. We created this page because people who let others use their ID to buy firearms – or whose ID was used without full understanding of what was happening – are facing federal charges that can send them to prison for over a decade. The gun might have been legal for either of you to own. The person who wanted it might not be a felon or prohibited person. None of that matters. The false identity on the federal form is what creates the federal crime. The lie is the offense.

Here’s the reality nobody explains until it’s too late. When ATF traces a crime gun back to its original purchase, YOUR name comes up first. Not the person who wanted the gun. Not the person who used it. You. Because your ID created the record. Your signature – real or forged – is on the Form 4473. And that form doesn’t just sit at the gun store. It enters federal databases that connect your identity to that firearm permanently, visible to over 8,700 law enforcement agencies nationwide.

What Federal Charges You’re Actually Facing

Letting someone use your ID to buy a gun triggers multiple federal statutes. These charges don’t run concurrently. They stack. Federal prosecutors have learned to maximize exposure by charging every applicable statute, turning what you thought was a favor into decades of potential prison time.

The baseline charge is making a false statement in connection with a firearm purchase under 18 U.S.C. §922(a)(6). Thats up to 10 years in federal prison. If the purchase is classified as a straw purchase under 18 U.S.C. § 933 – which was added by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 – the penalty jumps to 15 years. If that firearm was later used in a felony, terrorism, or drug trafficking, the sentence increases to 25 years.

But heres the hidden connection most people miss. If prosecutors charge you with aggravated identity theft – which they can when someone else’s identity was used on a federal form – thats a mandatory 2 years added on top of whatever other sentence you receive. Not instead of. On top of. The charges stack.

So your looking at a potential range of: 10 years (false statement) + 2 years (identity theft) = 12 years minimum. Or 15 years (straw purchase) + 2 years = 17 years. Or 25 years (gun used in serious crime) + 2 years = 27 years. These arent theoretical maximums that never actually happen. Federal prosecutors pursue these exact combinations of charges.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 dramatically increased penalties for straw purchases and made federal prosecution far more likely. What used to be treated as a minor paperwork issue is now a major federal priority.

How Your ID Created Federal Evidence

Every firearm purchase from a licensed dealer requires ATF Form 4473. That form requires government-issued photo ID with name, address, and date of birth. The identification document must have a photograph of the transferee – the person completing the form. Your ID created that record. The moment your drivers license or state ID was handed to that gun store clerk, your identity became permanantly linked to that firearm in federal records.

Heres the system revelation that changes everything about this situation. Form 4473 isnt just paperwork that sits in a drawer at the gun store. Dealers are required to retain those forms for 20 years. Twenty years. And if that dealer goes out of business, every single Form 4473 transfers to ATF’s National Tracing Center. ATF receives approximately 7 million out-of-business records every month. Your identity enters federal databases permanantly.

The irony that destroys people in your situation is this. You might not even remember letting someone use your ID years ago. It might have seemed like nothing at the time. But that Form 4473 has been sitting in a file cabinet for years, waiting. And when the gun purchased with your identity shows up at a crime scene, that 20-year-old record suddenly becomes the foundation of a federal investigation with your name at the center.

And its not just one database. The eTrace system connects your name to any crime gun traced back to that purchase. A detective in Miami running searches on firearms cases can see traces that originated in Seattle. Over 8,700 law enforcement agencies have access. Your connection to that firearm is visible nationwide. Once your identity is on a Form 4473, that connection never expires.

The “I Didn’t Know” Defense That Doesn’t Work

You didnt think it was a big deal. You didnt understand the legal implications. You were just helping someone out. You thought they would use the gun legally. You didnt know.

Heres the uncomfortable truth prosecutors will explain at your trial. Your signature on Form 4473 is YOUR sworn statement under penalty of federal law. When you sign that form – or when someone signs it using your identity – the document becomes a federal record attributed to YOU. If someone forged your signature, YOU still have to prove that. The burden shifts to you.

ATF dosent care who was physically holding the pen in the gun store. They care whose name is on the form. Your identity equals your responsibility to explain what happened. And “I didnt know” isnt a legal defense to a false statement charge. The question is wheather a false statement was made, not wheather you understood federal firearms law at the time.

This is the paradox that catches everyone in your situation off guard. You didnt buy the gun yourself. You just let someone use your ID. But YOU face the federal charges becuase YOUR identity is on the Form 4473. Your name. Your signature. Your criminal liability. The person who actualy wanted the gun committed the crime in the store – but your ID makes it YOUR signature on the federal form. They walked out with the gun. You walk into federal court.

Todd Spodek tells clients in this situation the same thing. The government dosent need to prove you understood the law. They need to prove a false statement was made on a federal form and your identity was used to make it. Your good intentions, your lack of understanding, your belief that nothing was wrong – none of that is a defense to the underlying charge. Federal firearms law dosent require criminal intent in the way most people understand it. The intent requirement is satisfied by the voluntary act of allowing your ID to be used. Ignorance of what would happen next is completly irrelevant to your criminal liability.

When That Gun Shows Up at a Crime Scene

The gun purchased with your ID three years ago just turned up at a homicide. Heres the consequence cascade that follows.

Police recover the gun and submit the serial number to ATF’s National Tracing Center. Within days, the trace identifies the original retail purchaser – thats you. YOUR name. ATF pulls the Form 4473 from the dealers records. Your signature is on it. Your ID was used. Your the “original purchaser” of a murder weapon in ATF’s system.

Look at what happened to Dawuan Na’jee Williams in Georgia. He used someone elses identity to purchase firearms. Eight days after buying a pistol in Georgia using fake ID, that gun was recovered by police in New Jersey. Williams is now facing false statements, aggravated identity theft, and felon in possession charges. Eight days. Thats how fast guns trace back.

And heres the hidden connection that makes this even worse. Your name coming up first in the eTrace system means your visible to law enforcement nationwide. The detective investigating the homicide sees your name. The ATF agent building the case sees your name. Every agency connected to eTrace – over 8,700 of them – can see that your identity is linked to this crime gun. Your not just part of one investigation. Your in a nationwide database as the original purchaser of a weapon used in a violent crime.

The investigation timeline is brutal. ATF dosent show up at your door the day after the crime. They build the case for 3-18 months. They interview witnesses. They trace the chain of possession. They gather evidence. By the time they contact you, the case is largely built. You’ve been under investigation for months without knowing it. Every person who touched that gun after the purchase has probly already been interviewed. The chain of custody from you to the crime scene is documented. And your sitting there thinking nobody knows anything while federal agents have been building your case for half a year.

Why Your “Friend” Might Cooperate Against You

The person who actualy wanted the gun – the person you let use your ID – might be cooperating with federal prosecutors right now. And you have no idea.

Heres how this plays out. That person gets arrested. Maybe for possession, maybe becuase the gun was used in a crime, maybe for something completly unrelated that led to the gun being discovered. Federal agents start asking questions. Where did you get the gun? How did you purchase it? Whose ID was used?

That person has a choice. They can stay silent and face the full weight of federal charges alone. Or they can cooperate. They can explain exactly how the gun was acquired. They can tell agents that YOU let them use your ID. They can provide details that corroborate the Form 4473 evidence. And in exchange for that cooperation, they get a reduced sentence or immunity.

This is the inversion that destroys peoples lives. Your “favor” to someone turned you from a bystander into a federal defendant. The person you helped might walk away with a cooperation deal while you face 15+ years. Your act of friendship becomes the testimony that convicts you.

And the uncomfortable truth is even worse. The person cooperating against you might be the only evidence ATF needs. They have the Form 4473 with your identity. They have a cooperating witness explaining what happened. What more do they need? Your friend’s testimony, combined with the documentary evidence, creates the case against you. Federal prosecutors have convicted people with far less evidence then this. A cooperating witness plus documentary proof equals a near-certain conviction. Thats the math that should terrify you.

The Stacking Charges Problem

Federal prosecutors dont charge one offense when they can charge three. Understanding how charges stack changes everything about your situation.

You let someone use your ID to buy a gun. Heres what prosecutors can charge:

• False statement on Form 4473 (18 U.S.C. §922(a)(6)) – 10 years
• Straw purchase (18 U.S.C. § 933) – 15 years
• Aggravated identity theft – mandatory +2 years
• If recipient was prohibited: Aiding illegal possession
• If part of pattern: Conspiracy charges

These charges dont merge. They stack. The aggravated identity theft charge alone adds a mandatory 2 years on top of whatever other sentence you receive. Thats not discretionary. Thats required by statute.

And heres the paradox about prosecution rates. In 2017, ATF referred about 12,700 denied purchases to field divisions for investigation. U.S. Attorneys Offices prosecuted only 12 of those cases. Twelve. Out of 12,700. That sounds like good odds, right?

Wrong. That statistic means when ATF decides to prosecute, they bring cases they are certain to win. Federal conviction rate exceeds 90%. The low prosecution rate isnt mercy – its selectivity. When prosecutors bring charges, they’ve already built an airtight case. If your being charged, they believe they can convict you. And they’re probly right. Federal prosecutors dont bring cases they think they’ll lose. Every case they file has been vetted, researched, and approved at multiple levels. By the time charges hit the court system, the government has basicly already determined your guilty. The trial is just the formality that confirms it.

If Someone Used Your ID Without Permission

Maybe you didnt let anyone use your ID. Maybe someone stole it. Maybe someone used your information without your knowledge. That changes things – but not as much as you might hope.

Heres how prosecutors approach claims of unauthorized use. They dont just accept your explanation. They investigate wheather you knew. Wheather you benefited. Wheather your story makes sense. They look at your relationship with the person who used your ID. They look at wheather you reported identity theft. They examine wheather you took any action to protect yourself after discovering the fraud.

The uncomfortable truth is that the burden shifts to you. Your signature – or a forgery of it – is on a federal form. Prosecutors dont have to prove you held the pen. They have documentary evidence of a false statement connected to your identity. YOU have to prove you werent involved.

This requires evidence. Documentation of identity theft. Police reports. Proof that you werent in the location where the purchase happened. Evidence of your relationship (or lack thereof) with the person who used your ID. Your defense requires affirmative proof, not just denial. Alibi witnesses. Credit card records showing you were somewhere else. Cell phone location data. Employment records. Anything that demonstrates you couldnt have been in that gun store when the purchase happened. The more evidence you can produce, the stronger your unauthorized use defense becomes.

And heres another uncomfortable reality. Even if you prove unauthorized use, you might still face investigation. Prosecutors might believe your story but want to verify it. That verification process involves interviews, subpoenas, forensic analysis. Your “innocence” still results in months of federal scrutiny that disrupts your life, costs money, and creates stress.

Contact a Federal Defense Attorney Immediately

Maybe ATF just contacted you. Maybe there asking to schedule an interview. Maybe you just found out someone used your ID to buy a gun and your trying to figure out what it means. Whatever brought you here, the path forward is the same.

Call Spodek Law Group at 212-300-5196 before you talk to anyone. Federal firearm charges are serious. The investigation that brought agents to your door has probly been running for months. They know more then you think. And anything you say – even trying to explain yourself – can become evidence.

Heres what happens if you handle this wrong. ATF interviews you. You try to explain. Your story dosent perfectly match what they already know. Those inconsistencies become potential obstruction charges. Now your not just facing the original charges – your facing additional counts becuase of how you responded to the investigation. The consequence cascade continues. And once obstruction is on the table, prosecutors have even more leverage to push for maximum sentences. They can use your inconsistent statements at trial to attack your credibility on everything else.

Look at what happened to Hunter Biden. The Presidents son was convicted of making false statements on Form 4473. If federal prosecutors will charge the Presidents son with lying on a gun form, they will absolutely charge you. The Hunter Biden case proved that DOJ and ATF are serious about Form 4473 enforcement, regardless of who you are or who you know.

Todd Spodek has defended clients facing federal firearms charges involving identity issues. We understand how these cases develop. We know how to challenge the evidence. We know how to present unauthorized use defenses effectivly. And we know how to protect you during ATF interviews so you dont create additional problems while trying to explain the original situation.

Call us at 212-300-5196. The consultation is free. The mistake of talking to federal agents without counsel could add years to your sentence.

Your ID is on a federal form for a gun you may not have purchased. That identity creates criminal liability that follows you wherever the gun goes. How you respond in the next 48 hours determines wheather this becomes a manageable legal problem or a federal prosecution that sends you to prison. The window for making good decisions is closing. Every day you wait, the government’s case gets stronger. Every conversation you have without legal protection becomes potential evidence. Every choice you make without counsel could be the wrong one.

Call Spodek Law Group now. 212-300-5196. Let us help you before you make this worse.