PHOENIX, AZ – A federal grand jury has indicted three Arizona men for conspiracy to make false statements in acquisition of firearms and 63 instances of making a false statement during the purchase of firearms. The grand jury returned a 65-count indictment against Chris Oliver, of Gilbert, Michael Kelly, of Tempe, and Dion Delpino, of Gilbert.
In addition, the indictment charges Oliver with dealing firearms without a license.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Oliver, age 23, Kelly, age 23, and Delpino, age 23, conspired to purchase firearms from licensed dealers by means of false statements and representations. The DOJ also alleges that, on 63 occasions between September 2019 and November 2020, Oliver, Kelly, and Delpino used false statements to successfully purchase 102 firearms from 14 licensed dealers throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area. Oliver then sold these firearms to persons known and unknown in Arizona and elsewhere.
On July 22, the Department of Justice launched five cross-jurisdictional strike forces to help reduce gun violence by disrupting illegal firearms trafficking in key regions across the country. Leveraging existing resources, the regional strike forces are working to stem the supply of illegally trafficked firearms from source cities, like Phoenix, into five key market regions: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area/Sacramento Region and Washington, D.C.
Convictions for conspiracy, false statement during the purchase of a firearm, and dealing firearms without a license, are each punishable by a maximum fine of $250,000, a maximum term of imprisonment of five years, or both, and a term of supervised release of three years.