OHIO — A Cleveland man has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for illegally reselling firearms and lying on federal paperwork.
U.S. District Judge Dan Polster handed down the sentence to Richard Seawright, 28, after he pled guilty to reselling firearms without a federal license and falsifying documents to conceal his intentions.
According to court records, Seawright legally purchased more than 50 firearms between April 2018 and December 2022 from federally licensed dealers across Northeast Ohio.
However, he admitted to falsifying federal firearms transaction forms by claiming he was the actual buyer, a requirement under Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) regulations.
Seawright acknowledged buying the guns with the intent to sell them to individuals who were not legally allowed to own firearms, a practice known as “straw purchasing.”
During the investigation, law enforcement linked multiple firearms Seawright purchased to violent crimes, including a homicide.
Using the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), officials traced the guns to various shootings.
The case was investigated by ATF-Cleveland and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Kane for the Northern District of Ohio.
