California ghost gun dealer agrees to pay $70,000 over illegal sales

A California-based firearms distributor entered into a settlement with the state of New Jersey over its illegal sale of ghost guns in the Garden State, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced Thursday.

Under a consent order approved by an Essex County Superior Court judge, the Patriot Armory must pay $70,000. The order also bars the company from selling unserialized gun kits and unfinished receivers. It must also advertise conspicuously that it does not ship such products to New Jersey.

Ghost guns are unfinished firearms that allow purchasers to circumvent background checks, allowing those barred by law from owning guns to obtain them. They also lack trackable serial numbers, complicating tracking efforts related to gun crimes.

“Protecting New Jerseyans is one of my primary responsibilities as chief law enforcement officer, and to do that, we must keep untraceable firearms off our streets,” Grewal said. “We put ghost gun vendors on notice about the consequences of violating our State’s laws over a year ago. Many responded by blocking ghost gun sales to New Jersey residents. Companies that refuse to comply with our laws voluntarily will be held accountable in court.”

New Jersey made ghost guns illegal in 2018 under a bill that also banned the distribution of information on how to 3D print firearms.

Patriot Armory continued to advertise and sell ghost guns to New Jersey residents after the law’s passage, claiming falsely such weapons were legal. The suit against the firearms distributor was the first of its kind in the country.

The settlement follows two other favorable outcomes for New Jersey’s top prosecutor. Last September, a Nevada-based gun dealer paid $50,000 to the state in a settlement over illegal sales of large-capacity magazines to Garden State residents.

Then, in January, a Florida firm agreed to stop selling large capacity magazines anywhere in the country, after it sold prohibited materials to an undercover investigator in New Jersey. That firm paid $135,000 in penalties.

Deputy Attorney General Jess Sierant represented New Jersey in the most recent settlement, and Office of Consumer Protection investigator Aziza Salikhova conducted the investigation.