After pleading guilty to a four-count federal indictment in March, 34-year-old Adam Bunger was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Bowling Green.
Bunger admitted to shipping firearms to England, Sweden, and Australia, all countries with stringent gun laws.
An investigation found that Bunger used a website called Black Market Reloaded to sell the weapons and used aliases to ship them overseas. The firearms were disassembled, and the parts hidden in hollowed-out video game consoles. At least two of the handguns had their serial numbers stripped.
An ATF agent testified at the sentencing that one of the intended recipients in Sweden had a history of mental illness and substance abuse and that Bunger advertised himself online as the "gun person" who could guarantee the weapons would reach their intended recipients.
In a tearful statement to the court, Bunger said he did it for love, claiming he was trying to pay for his girlfriend’s college education.
"I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I just wanted to help," stated Bunger.
"Maybe you should have gotten two extra jobs instead of doing this," replied U.S. District Judge Joseph McKinley.
Judge McKinley strayed from the government’s 30-month recommendation and handed down a 24-month prison sentence followed by two years of supervised release.
