NEWS
Judge sentences former Albuquerque gun dealer in machine gun trafficking scheme
Man had pleaded guilty to making false statements to acquire firearms
Published
A former Albuquerque gun store owner was the first defendant to be sentenced in a cross-country machine gun trafficking scheme that relied on falsified documents signed by law enforcement 鈥� including the former Bernalillo County sheriff.
U.S. District Judge Julie Rubin of Maryland on Monday sentenced James Christopher Tafoya, former owner of JCT Firearms, to time served and a $2,000 fine for the misdemeanor crime of aiding and abetting the making of false statements in keeping records by a federal firearms licensee.
In a sentencing memorandum, Tafoya鈥檚 defense attorney requested time served and a $500 fine due to Tafoya鈥檚 鈥渘early three years of faultless pretrial supervision.鈥�
Tafoya鈥檚 attorney declined to comment.
Tafoya pleaded guilty in September 2025 to the single count in a deal offered by federal prosecutors that saw the remaining charges dropped. As part of his plea agreement, Tafoya must forfeit more than 100 firearms, including dozens of machine guns.
In 2019, according to his plea agreement, Tafoya obtained the signature of then-Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales III for a law letter that was used by the scheme鈥檚 ringleader, Sean Sullivan, to import a machine gun.
Automatic weapons have been restricted in the U.S. for decades but can be imported following a written request by a local law enforcement agency, known as a law letter, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
In the memorandum, Tafoya鈥檚 defense said he had handed over the letter knowing it contained false statements but 鈥渕ade no false statements of his own.鈥�
Others who have pleaded guilty in the case are Sullivan, a gun dealer and former Department of Homeland Security analyst; Matthew Hall, former chief of police in North Carolina; and Larry Vickers, a firearms dealer and enthusiast who reviews guns on YouTube. None have been sentenced.
The only person charged in the case who has not taken a plea deal is James Sawyer, a former chief of police in North Dakota.
The case dates back to 2023, when the ATF indicted the group, alleging that for years they had falsified law letters to import automatic weapons. The ATF said the nationwide scheme likely raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars as the acquired weapons were resold to firearms dealers, gun enthusiasts and collectors.
In one instance, Tafoya admitted to aiding and abetting the scheme鈥檚 ringleader Sullivan in 2019 by obtaining a law letter signed by Gonzales, according to his plea agreement. The plea agreement states Tafoya gave the letter, which requested the demonstration of a machine gun, to Sullivan 鈥渒nowing it contained (a) false statement鈥� and the letter was used to import the weapon.
Though the plea agreement only mentions one instance, the ATF indictment alleged Gonzales and then-Undersheriff Rudy Mora signed dozens of such letters used by Sullivan to import the guns, which included automatic pistols and rifles but also relics, such as a World War I machine gun that was water-cooled and needed to be trailered behind a vehicle.
The ATF alleged that Gonzales and Mora submitted more than 100 law letters to Tafoya, requesting more than 1,000 guns for demonstration between July 2015 and March 2021. Of those requested, the ATF said at least 20 guns were imported by Sullivan.
No wrongdoing has been alleged against Gonzales, Mora or a New Mexico State Police armorer who was mentioned but never named in court records. Mora and Gonzales could not be reached Wednesday.
In the sentencing memorandum, Tafoya鈥檚 attorney said due to his client鈥檚 鈥渆xcellent conduct鈥� on pretrial supervision the past few years, the federal judge granted a motion in September 2025 to allow him to possess firearms. The memorandum said Tafoya鈥檚 long-term plan is to take over his family鈥檚 painting business, which brings in up to $10 million annually.
鈥淚n the wake of this case, Mr. Tafoya has left the firearms business and has no intention of participating in wholesale or retail firearms businesses again,鈥� according to the memorandum.
The building that housed JCT Firearms 鈥� the gun store owned by Tafoya on Old Coors SW, south of Central 鈥� is now the home of Red鈥檚 Marijuana Shop.
