Florida Couple Indicted for Multiple Federal Firearms Violations
OCALA, Fla. – U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of a 39-count indictment charging Kingsley Wilson, 35, of Kissimmee and Viviana Rodriguez, 41, of Kissimmee with dealing in firearms without a license, making a materially false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer (FFL) and causing an FLL to maintain false information in its official records. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison for dealing in firearms without a license, 10 years for each count of making a materially false statement to an FFL and 5 years for each count of causing an FFL to maintain false information in its official records.
According to evidence and documents presented in court, between January 2022 and July 2023, Wilson purchased 89 firearms from multiple gun dealers in the Middle District of Florida. During that same period, Rodriguez purchased approximately 40 firearms. While purchasing these firearms, Wilson and Rodriguez each falsely certified on ATF Form 4473s (Firearm Transaction Records) that they were the “actual transferee/buyer” of the firearms. In actuality, they were purchasing the firearms for other individuals. Ten of the firearms purchased by Wilson have been recovered by law enforcement at crime scenes in the Bahamas and Canada.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities and measuring the results.
###
