Indiana man pleads guilty to reselling 1,300+ firearms without license

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana man has been sentenced to four years in federal prison after pleading guilty to illegally selling thousands of firearms, with many of them ending up in Mexico.

According to a news release shared by the United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of Indiana, 52-year-old David Mull admitted that he was involved in the illegal reselling of more than 1,300 firearms. After his four-year sentence concludes, Mull will serve an additional two years of supervised release.

Court documents show that Mull was responsible for the illegal sales of thousands of firearms without ever acquiring a legal dealing license. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives handed Mull a notice in 2016 telling him that he needed to obtain a federal firearms license if he wished to continue selling firearms.

Investigators said Mull failed to acquire the necessary license and continued operating his “unlicensed gun business.”

He managed to avoid detection by federal authorities by reportedly purchasing the majority of his firearms from private sellers at gun shows throughout the country for resale purposes instead of purchasing from sellers with the appropriate Federal Firearms License.

Federal Firearms Licenses are intended to help investigators track who originally purchased a firearm, since individuals selling guns privately are not required to have these records available.

The lengthy investigation revealed that one of Mull’s main clients was involved in the illegal trafficking of firearms into Mexico. Mull is accused of selling more than 500 firearms to this client between 2019 and 2023. In exchange, Mull reportedly received $350,000 in cash, the release said.

“Mull knew or had reason to believe that the firearms would be transported from Indianapolis to New York City, and then to Mexico, at the time of sale,” the release stated.

Mull also organized an online firearms business where he reportedly sold around 800 firearms for more than $170,000, according to the release.

“Illegal firearms dealers deliberately bypass background checks and record-keeping laws intended to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands. We know that diverting firearms from legal markets in the U.S. to illegal markets in Mexico fuels cartel violence and the drug trade—crimes that cross borders and devastate communities,” said John E. Childress, acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “This sentence underscores our commitment to prosecuting all those involved in gun trafficking networks.”