Three more plead guilty in connection with conspiracy to use stolen credit card information to buy firearms online and pick them up in ‘straw purchases’

CINCINNATI – Three more people have pleaded guilty in connection with a conspiracy to buy firearms online using stolen credit card information, and having the weapons shipped to Cincinnati-area federal firearms licensees (FFLs) for pickup.

Members of the conspiracy falsely claimed on federal forms that they were buying the firearms for themselves, when in fact they were picking up at least some of the firearms for the co-conspirators who had placed the fraudulent online orders. This illegal practice is known as straw purchasing.

Roderico “Rico” Allen, 27, pleaded guilty today to charges of making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm and aggravated identity theft. According to court documents, in the spring of 2022, Allen attempted to place dozens of online orders for handguns using stolen credit card information. He placed all the orders in the names of other individuals whom he had recruited to pick up the weapons for him. Fraud prevention systems stopped some of the orders, but Allen and his co-conspirators completed the sale of at least six of the firearms. Three others charged along with Allen have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

Nehamiah Jones, 24, pleaded guilty on Aug. 19 to using stolen credit card information during the spring of 2022 to purchase nine handguns from online retailers for shipment to, and pickup from, Cincinnati-area FFLs. He successfully completed the purchase of three of the pistols ordered in his own name, but the FFLs denied the transfer of six other firearms he had ordered in the name of a co-conspirator. Jones also pleaded guilty to submitting a fraudulent application for a pandemic-related Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan in 2021, falsely claiming that he owned a business called “massage on air,” when in fact no such business existed.

Aneesah Williams, 28, pleaded guilty today to one count of making false statement during the purchase of a firearm. According to court documents, Williams successfully obtained eight firearms in illegal straw purchases and attempted to obtain three others.

Williams and Jones were charged along with four others in April 2023. One co-defendant, Zephaniah Jones, has been sentenced to 79 months in prison.

Making false statements during the purchase of a firearm is punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment. A conviction for aggravated identity theft requires a mandatory two-year prison term in addition to any other sentences imposed. Making false statements to an agency of the United States is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF); Jared Murphy, Acting Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit Field Office; Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa A. Theetge; and Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey announced the pleas entered before U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett. Assistant United States Attorney Julie D. Garcia and Danielle Margeaux are representing the United States in these cases.

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