Federal Ghost Gun Charges – Unserialized Firearms

Federal Ghost Gun Charges – Unserialized Firearms

The Supreme Court settled the ghost gun question in March 2025. Seven to two. The ATF’s Frame and Receiver Rule stands. What used to be a gray area is now clearly federal territory. If you built ghost guns thinking you were in a legal loophole, that loophole just closed – and prosecutors now have clear authority to charge you.

Welcome to Spodek Law Group. We created this page because ghost gun law changed dramatically and most people dont realize it. The kits you bought legally might now be evidence of federal crimes. The guns you built for “personal use” might expose you to prosecution if your a prohibited person. And the 80% lower receiver market that exploded specifically because ATF said those parts werent firearms? ATF changed there mind.

The question everyone asks is “are ghost guns illegal now?” The answer is complicated. Building a gun for personal use isnt automatically illegal. But the 2022 ATF rule redefined what counts as a “firearm” – and suddenly alot of things that were legal to buy and sell now require licensing, serialization, and background checks. If you bought a kit before the rule and your a prohibited person, you might already be committing a federal crime just by possessing what you built.

What the Law Actually Says Now

Heres the thing about ghost gun law. It changed fundamentally in 2022, and the Supreme Court just confirmed that change is permanent.

The ATF Frame and Receiver Rule redefined what qualifies as a “firearm” under the Gun Control Act. Before the rule, manufacturers could sell unfinished frames and receivers – the core component that makes a gun a gun – as long as they were less than 80% complete. The logic was that an incomplete piece of metal isnt a firearm. Its just metal.

The 2022 rule changed that. Now, any kit that can be “readily converted” into a working firearm qualifies as a firearm under federal law. That means sellers need an FFL license. That means buyers need background checks. That means every frame and receiver needs a serial number before sale.

OK so what about kits people already bought? Heres were it gets complicated. The rule dosent ban possession of existing ghost guns. If you legally built a firearm for personal use before the rule, you can keep it – assuming your not a prohibited person. But dealers who had unserialized inventory had to serialize everything. And going forward, those “Buy Build Shoot” kits that companies like Polymer80 sold? Those are firearms now. Selling them without a license is a federal crime.

The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in Bondi v. VanDerStok that ATF had authority to make this rule. The challengers argued ATF was rewriting the law. The Court disagreed. That 7-2 margin tells you everything – challenges to the ghost gun rule are basicly over. The law is settled.

The “80% Lower” Confusion

The entire ghost gun market exists because of a single ATF determination. Decades ago, ATF decided that a receiver less than 80% complete wasnt a firearm. Manufacturers built an industry around that 80% line. Buy an almost-complete receiver, finish it yourself, and you have a gun with no serial number, no background check, no paper trail.

Think about the irony here. ATF created the loophole by defining what wasnt a firearm. Then ATF closed the loophole by redefining what IS a firearm. People bought 80% kits specificaly because ATF said they were legal. Now those same purchases are potentially evidence of firearms violations if the circumstances are wrong.

Heres the part that confuses people. Individual 80% lowers – just the metal block, without jigs or tools – might still be legal to purchase in some cases. The rule targets kits that can be “readily completed.” If you buy an unfinished receiver and have to do significant machining work yourself, it might not qualify as a firearm under the rule.

But Polymer80’s “Buy Build Shoot” kits – which included the frame, jig, drill bits, and everything needed to complete the gun in minutes? The Supreme Court specificaly cited those as firearms. If you bought one of those kits and built it, you built a firearm. Whether that creates criminal liability depends on your status and what you did with it.

The confusion is intentional in some ways. The line between “parts” and “firearm” was always fuzzy. Now its fuzzier in different ways. And if prosecutors decide your particular build crossed the line, your going to need a lawyer to argue the distinction.

Who Actually Gets Prosecuted

Heres the system revelation most people dont understand. Federal prosecutors arent hunting down every person who built a ghost gun in there garage. Enforcement is focused on two categories: manufacturers/sellers who should be licensed, and prohibited persons who possess any firearm including ghost guns.

The primary targets are companies like Polymer80 and individual sellers who were running ghost gun businesses without FFL licenses. If you were buying kits and reselling completed guns, your in serious trouble. If you were manufacturing for sale without serializing, your in serious trouble. The ATF rule was designed to shut down the commercial ghost gun market, not to prosecute hobbyists.

But heres the uncomfortable truth. Individual builders get caught when there already being investigated for something else. Drug trafficking investigation leads to a search warrant. Search warrant turns up ghost guns. Now you’ve got federal firearms charges on top of whatever else prosecutors were building.

Todd Spodek sees this pattern constantly. Ghost gun charges are add-on charges. Prosecutors discover them while looking for something else. The unserialized firearm becomes evidence of consciousness of guilt – why would an innocent person need an untraceable gun? That logic is flawed, but juries find it persuasive.

If your a law-abiding citizen who built one ghost gun for personal use and your not prohibited from owning firearms, your probly not going to be prosecuted. But if your involved in any activity that attracts federal attention, those ghost guns become weapons prosecutors use against you.

The Prohibited Person Trap

This is were ghost gun law gets genuinely dangerous for people who thought they were being clever.

If your a prohibited person under federal law – felon, domestic violence conviction, drug user, certain mental health adjudications – you cant possess ANY firearm. Ghost gun or not. Serial number or not. The lack of a serial number dosent help you avoid charges. It triggers ADDITIONAL charges.

Heres the consequence cascade. You bought a ghost gun kit years ago, before you had a felony conviction. You built the gun legally for personal use. Then you got convicted of a felony. That gun you legally built is now illegally possessed. Every day you keep it is a new federal crime.

Or this scenario. Your a prohibited person. You know you cant buy from a gun store because the background check will flag you. So you buy an 80% kit and build it yourself. No background check, no questions asked. Except now you’ve possessed an unserialized firearm as a prohibited person – thats felon in possession PLUS potential unregistered firearm charges. Your trying to avoid paper trail and you’ve created more criminal exposure, not less.

The inversion is brutal. Ghost guns were designed to be untraceable. But getting caught with one as a prohibited person creates MORE scrutiny then a registered gun would. Prosecutors assume trafficking. Prosecutors assume you were trying to hide something. The lack of serial number that was supposed to protect you becomes evidence of criminal intent.

Let that sink in. The same feature that attracted you to ghost guns – untraceability – is what makes prosecutors more aggressive, not less, when they find one.

Nathan Brasfield – What Federal Ghost Gun Prosecution Looks Like

In Seattle, federal prosecutors built a case against Nathan Brasfield that shows exactly how ghost gun charges work in practice. Brasfield was a felon. He possessed 17 pistols, 24 rifles, and over 300 pounds of ammunition. Most of the guns were ghost guns – unserialized, untraceable. He also had 10 illegal silencers smuggled from China.

The sentence? 70 months in federal prison. Thats nearly six years.

Heres what the Brasfield case reveals about federal enforcement. Prosecutors didnt go after him for one ghost gun. They built a case around a pattern – massive quantities of firearms, silencer smuggling, prohibited person status. The ghost guns were part of a larger picture of someone who appeared to be arming himself for something prosecutors found concerning.

The silencer connection matters. Brasfield ordered suppressors from China through the mail. That shows the kind of behavior that triggers serious federal attention. Ghost gun manufacturing often accompanies other illegal activity – silencer smuggling, drug trafficking, illegal sales. When investigators find one crime, they usually find others.

What Brasfield probly thought: building ghost guns keeps me under the radar. What actualy happened: the unserialized guns became evidence of a pattern that prosecutors used to justify a serious sentence. The lack of serial numbers didnt hide his activity. It proved his intent to operate outside the legal system.

Thats 70 months. 5-year benchmark commonly used in trafficking cases. Up to 10 years maximum under the Gun Control Act for unregistered firearm violations. These arnt theoretical penalties. There what federal judges actually impose.

The Supreme Court Settled This

If your hoping the ghost gun rule gets overturned, stop hoping. Bondi v. VanDerStok was decided 7-2. Thats not a close case. Thats a decisive ruling that ATF has authority to regulate ghost gun kits as firearms.

The challengers made reasonable arguments. They said ATF was rewriting legislation, that Congress never intended to regulate incomplete parts, that the rule exceeded agency authority. Seven justices disagreed. Only Justices Thomas and Alito dissented.

What this means practically: litigation challenging the ghost gun rule is essentially over. Lower courts will follow Supreme Court precedent. New challenges face an almost impossible burden. The rule stands.

Some people are waiting for Congress to act – either to codify the rule into statute or to overturn it. Neither seems likely anytime soon. The rule operates in a political space were both gun rights advocates and gun control advocates have mixed feelings. Its probably going to remain exactly as it is for years.

The uncomfortable truth is that if you built ghost guns before the rule thinking you were in a gray area, that gray area has been painted clearly federal. The Supreme Court said so. Your legal arguments are gone.

Building for Personal Use – What’s Still Legal

Despite everything above, building a firearm for personal use without serialization might still be legal in some circumstances. The key is “for personal use” and “not a prohibited person.”

Heres what the rule actualy prohibits: commercial activity without licensing. Selling ghost guns without FFL. Manufacturing for sale without serialization. Dealing in frames and receivers without background checks. If your buying parts and building guns to sell, your committing federal crimes.

What the rule dosent prohibit: a non-prohibited person building a single firearm for there own personal use. No serialization required. No background check required. The Second Amendment still protects personal manufacture for personal use – as long as it stays personal and the person isnt prohibited.

But heres the paradox. The moment you try to sell a personally-built gun without serializing it, you’ve committed a federal crime. The same gun thats legal to build becomes illegal to sell. The line between legal and illegal is the commercial transaction.

And if your status changes – you become a prohibited person after building the gun – the gun you legally built becomes illegally possessed. Personal use dosent protect you if your not legally allowed to possess firearms anymore.

The “willfulness” requirement for prosecution means you CAN get a ruling from ATF on whether your specific gun or kit is legal BEFORE building. But who actualy does that? Nobody. People just build and hope. And hoping isnt a legal defense.

When Ghost Guns Show Up at Crime Scenes

Heres a hidden connection most people miss. Ghost guns cant be traced – thats the whole point. But that untraceability makes prosecutors MORE aggressive when they find one at a crime scene, not less.

Normal crime gun investigation works like this. Gun recovered at scene. ATF traces serial number from manufacturer to distributor to dealer to first purchaser. Investigators follow the chain until they find the shooter. The trace is a tool – it leads somewhere.

Ghost gun investigation works differently. Gun recovered at scene. No serial number. No trace possible. Dead end. Investigators have to find the shooter through other means. But once they find the shooter, that untraceable gun becomes devastating evidence.

Think about what a prosecutor argues to a jury. “The defendant didnt just possess a gun illegally. He possessed a gun designed to be untraceable. He possessed a gun specifically manufactured to avoid detection. Why would an innocent person need a gun that cant be traced?”

The logic might be flawed – plenty of law-abiding people built ghost guns for legitimate reasons. But juries find it persuasive. The untraceability that attracted people to ghost guns becomes evidence of criminal intent in court.

And heres the consequence that really matters. When ATF cant trace a crime gun, they assume trafficking. Multiple untraceable guns at multiple crime scenes suggests a supply network. Investigators look for the source. If that source turns out to be you – selling guns you built, even if you thought the sales were legal – your looking at federal trafficking charges on top of everything else.

The irony is perfect. Ghost guns were designed to be untraceable. But that untraceability triggers assumptions about criminal activity that make prosecution more likely, not less. You wanted to stay under the radar. Instead, you raised red flags.

The J.C. Sartor Warning

In San Diego, a felon named J.C. Sartor used a ghost gun to shoot a police officer. He was sentenced to approximately 40 years in prison.

Sartor couldnt legally buy a gun. He was prohibited. So he obtained a ghost gun – no background check, no serial number, no questions. Then he used it in one of the worst possible ways.

The sentence – around 40 years – reflects more then just the shooting. It reflects judicial rage at someone who deliberately circumvented the system designed to keep guns away from dangerous people. Sartor wasnt just a felon with a gun. He was a felon who went out of his way to get an untraceable gun. That extra step made everything worse.

Heres what the Sartor case teaches. If your a prohibited person and you obtain a ghost gun, prosecutors will argue you were planning something. You knew you couldnt pass a background check. You deliberately acquired an untraceable weapon. That shows premeditation. That shows intent. That gets you decades instead of years.

The ghost gun dosent help prohibited persons. It creates additional evidence of criminal intent that prosecutors use to justify longer sentences. Sartor probly thought an untraceable gun was safer for him. It ended up being evidence that buried him.

State Law Complications

Federal law isnt the only problem. Many states have there own ghost gun laws that are often stricter.

New York treats possession of an unserialized firearm as a Class E felony – up to 4 years imprisonment plus fines. California has criminalized ghost guns since 2016 and requires serialization of home-built firearms. Other states are adding restrictions constantly.

The patchwork creates confusion. You might be legal under federal law but criminal under state law. You might build a gun in one state were its legal, then move to another state were possessing it becomes a crime. Interstate travel with ghost guns is a legal minefield.

And state prosecutors are often more aggressive then federal prosecutors on ghost gun cases. Federal resources are limited. State district attorneys have more bandwidth and sometimes more political incentive to prosecute firearms cases. Just because ATF hasnt come knocking dosent mean your state wont.

Todd Spodek tells clients that ghost gun possession requires understanding BOTH federal and state law. Being legal under one system dosent protect you under the other. If your going to possess unserialized firearms, you need to know every law that applies – and theres alot of them.

If You Already Have a Ghost Gun

Maybe your reading this because you already built ghost guns and now your worried. Heres the practical reality.

If your not a prohibited person and the guns are for personal use, your probly okay under federal law. The rule dosent require you to serialize guns you already built. It dosent require you to turn them in. Possession alone isnt criminalized for legal gun owners.

But if your a prohibited person, those guns are illegal to possess and you need to deal with that immediatly. Continuing to possess them is a daily federal crime. Selling them creates additional crimes. Your options are limited and you need legal advice.

If your in a state with strict ghost gun laws, you might need to serialize your firearms or face state charges. Some states have created processes for home builders to get serial numbers. Some states just prohibit possession outright.

And if federal agents ever show up asking about ghost guns – stop talking immediatly. Dont explain your builds. Dont describe your purchases. Dont try to convince them your guns are legal.

Call Spodek Law Group at 212-300-5196 before you answer any questions. We handle federal firearms cases and understand how ghost gun investigations develop. The consultation is confidential. Your explanations to investigators become evidence – let us evaluate your exposure before you make decisions.

If you’ve got unserialized firearms and your not sure about your legal status, the time to get advice is now – before investigators show up, not after. Call us at 212-300-5196. The ghost gun landscape has changed, and what you thought was legal might not be anymore.